CM
m
JOHN M. KELLY LIBBARY
Donated by
The Redemptorists of
the Toronto Province
from the Library Collection of
Holy Redeemer College, Windsor
University of
St. Michael's College, Toronto
" ALWAYS LIVING TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR US.''
(HEB. vn, 25)
The
Readings for the Month of June
From the Writings of
Fatter A. Tesniere, S. S. S.
IFUbil ©bstat
LUDOVICUS ESTEVENON, S.S.S.
Superior Generalis.
Rome, March 25, 1908.
Mibil <S>bstat
REMIGIUS LAFORT, S.T.L.
Censor Librorum.
llmprtmatur
^JOANNES M. FARLEY, D.D.
Archiepiscopus Neo-Ebor.
New York, April 4, 1908.
APPROBATION
THE Month of the Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus will be cordially welcomed by all de
vout Catholics who desire to respond to
Our Lord's appeal at Paray-le-Monial for
adoration and frequent Communion. The
Sacred Heart and the Eucharist can never
be disassociated. Devotion toward the one
increases love for the other.
These pious thoughts will help souls to
know the Heart of Our Saviour better and,
consequently, will foster love for the Sacred
Humanity of Jesus Christ residing in the
Most Blessed Sacrament. We gladly give
our approval to this little book, for we feel
sure it will enable the Faithful to spend the
thirty days of June in close communion with
the Eucharistic Heart of Christ.
HOLY REOEEME&t^RARY.
^X^A.
PREFACE
THE month of June contains two feasts
which appeal in a special manner to all de
vout souls. They are the feasts of Corpus
Christi and the Sacred Heart. One is the
complement of the other. The revelation
of the Divine Master to St. Juliana of Liege
in the thirteenth century received its crown
ing glory at Paray-le-Monial nearly five
hundred years after. Since then the two
feasts seem to breathe the same spirit, until
now devotion to the Sacred Heart prac
tically means -an ardent love for the Blessed
Sacrament.
Our Holy Founder, Pere Eymard, ad
vises all earnest adorers to have one book
on the Blessed Sacrament, which th^y shall
read carefully during the month of June.
He says this close study and concentration
of thought is the most powerful means of
imbibing a deep Eucharistic spirit.
It is in order to supply the Faithful with
such a book that the following pages have
been culled from the prolific writings of
iv
*.F*cHj n .1 to.'; ftj ]$ y $*>
Preface. v
Reverend Albert Tesniere, S.S.S. His is
an able pen whence flow thoughts thor
oughly impregnated with the spirit of his
venerable Founder. Every meditation is in
the form of the four ends of Sacrifice, a
method of prayer which has now become
identified with Pere Eymard and his So
ciety, the Fathers of the Most Blessed Sac
rament.
Being a profound theologian, Pere Tes
niere has given the Eucharist long and deep
study. He makes the soul realize that only
in the tiny white Host can she find on earth
the Sacred Humanity of Our Saviour. The
Sacred Heart is the vital organ of that Hu
manity in His Eucharistic, as It was in His
mortal life. When Jesus appeared to
Blessed Margaret Mary, He raised the veils
of the Sacred Species, and revealed to the
lowly Visitandine His Heart throbbing and
longing for our love. " Behold the Heart
that has so loved men ! "
The dominant tone of all the wonderful
revelations at Paray-le-Monial is an appeal
from the Man-God for more fervent adora
tion and frequent Communion. They are
the means by which souls can alleviate His
" ardent thirst to be loved by men in the
vi Preface.
Sacrament of His love." Pictures and
statues are representations that appeal to the
senses, but only in the Eucharist can be
found here on earth the Divine Original.
We trust that, by faithfully using these
beautiful thoughts of Pere Tesniere, pious
souls may spend a month all perfumed with
the Eucharistic spirit and that, at the close
of June's thirty days of grace, they may
find themselves nearer and dearer to the
great Heart of our Eucharistic Lord.
S.S.S.
THE MONTH OF JUNE
His Holiness of happy memory, Pope
Pius IX, by a Decree of the Sacred Con
gregation of Indulgences, May 8, 187.3,
granted to all the Faithful who, during the
month of June, either in public or in private,
shall with at least a contrite heart say some
special prayers or perform some pious acts
in honor of the Most Sacred Heart of
JeSUS: AN INDULGENCE OF SEVEN YEARS
AND SEVEN QUARANTINES O11CC a (lay.
A Plenary Indulgence on any day of the
month, provided that, being truly penitent
after confession and Communion, they shall
visit some church or public oratory, and
there pray devoutly for the intention of His
Holiness.
NEW INDULGENCES FOR THE MONTH OF THE
SACRED HEART.
His Holiness Pius X, adding to the favors
of his predecessors, has granted exceptional
Indulgences, which will rejoice all friends
of the Heart of Jesus. To extend the de
votion of the Month of the Sacred Heart,
vn
viii The Month of June.
Holiness was requested to grant the
following Indulgences:
1. A PLENARY INDULGENCE toties quoties
(as often as) applicable to the souls in pur
gatory, on June 30th, in churches in which
the Month of the Sacred Heart shall have
been solemnly celebrated ;
2. The privilege of the Gregorian altar
ad instar, at the Mass on June 30th, for the
preachers of the Month of the Sacred Heart
and the rectors of churches in which this
devotion shall have been solemnly cele
brated ;
3. For all who propagate this holy de
votion, an Indulgence of 500 days to be
gained for every work done to propagate it
or to have it more solemnly celebrated; a
Plenary Indulgence for the Communions
made in the Month of June. All these In
dulgences applicable to the souls in purga
tory.
From an audience with His Holiness,
August 8, 1906.
ALOYSIUS CARD. TRIPEPI, Pref.
of the Cong, of Indulgences and Relics.
Pro-Pref. of the Cong, of Rites.
Promises of Our Lord. ix
PROMISES OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO
BLESSED MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE IN
FAVOR OF THOSE DEVOTED TO HIS
SACRED HEART.
1. I will give them all the graces neces
sary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their af
flictions.
4. I will be their assured refuge in life,
and more especially at death.
5. I will pour out abundant benedictions
on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the
source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall advance rapidly to
great perfection.
9. I will bless the house in which the
image of My Sacred Heart shall be ex-
posed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of mov
ing the most hardened hearts.
11. Persons who propagate this devotion
shall have their names inscribed in My
Heart, never to be effaced from it.
12. I promise thee, in the excess of the
2
x Promises of Our Lord.
mercy of My Heart, that Its all-powerful
love will grant to all those who receive Com
munion on the First Friday of every month,
for nine consecutive months, the grace of
final penitence, and that they shall not die
under My displeasure, nor without receiv
ing the Sacraments, and My Heart shall be
their secure refuge at that last hour.
DAILY PRAYERS FOR THE
MONTH OF JUNE
AN OFFERING.
MY loving Jesus, I give Thee my heart,
and I consecrate myself wholly to Thee out
of the grateful love I bear Thee, and as
reparation for all my unfaithfulness! With
Thy help, I purpose never again to sin.
(Indulgence, 100 days once a day.)
(Plenary Indulgence once a month if the
prayer be said before a picture of the
Sacred Heart, on the usual conditions, con
fession and Communion, and prayers for
the Sovereign Pontiff's intentions.)
" Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have mercy
on us ! "
(Indulgence of 300 days, totics quoties.)
THE PRAYER OF ST. GERTRUDE TO THE
SACRED HEART.
Hail, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and
quickening source of eternal life, infinite
treasury of the Divinity, burning furnace
of divine love! Thou art my refuge and
my sanctuary. O my amiable Saviour,
xi
xii Daily Prayers for the Month of June.
consume my heart with that burning fire
with which Thine is ever inflamed! Pour
down on my soul those graces that flow
from Thy love, and let my heart be so
united to Thine that our wills may be one,
and mine in all things conformed to Thine.
May Thine be the standard and rule of my
desires and actions! Amen.
PETITIONS TO THE SACRED HEART.
O God, who, out of Thy immense love,
hast given to the Faithful the Sacred Heart
of Thy dear Son, Our Lord, as the object
of their tender affections, grant, we be
seech Thee, that we may so love and honor
this pledge of Thy love on earth that by It
we may merit to love both Thee and Thy
gift, and be eternally loved by Thee and this
most blessed Heart in heaven, through the
same Jesus Christ Our Lord, Thy Son, who
liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity
of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without
end ! Amen.
AN ACT OF CONSECRATION AND REPARATION
TO THE SACRED HEART.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, my Saviour and
my God, deign to receive me among the
Daily Prayers for the Month of June, xiii
number of Thy adorers, notwithstanding
my unworthiness ! Humbly prostrate be
fore Thee, I adore Thee with all the powers
of my soul. I consecrate them forever to
Thee with all my thoughts, words, and ac
tions, in grateful acknowledgment for my re
demption, but more particularly for Thy
love in always dwelling with us in the Most
Adorable and Most Blessed Sacrament of
the Altar. Why cannot I, O Sacred
Heart, by my adorations and those of my
associates, repair all the outrages Thou hast
ever received, and that Thou wilt continue
to receive till the end of time? Why can
not I offer Thee as much love and glory as
Thou dost render to Thy Eternal Father?
Do Thou repair all my faults. Be my Pro
tector, my Strength, my Asylum at the hour
of my death !
I ask the same for all poor sinners, for
all in affliction, for the agonizing, and for
all mankind that none may lose the fruits
of the Precious Blood Thou didst shed upon
the Cross. May it be applied to the souls
in purgatory, also ! This is my request, and
I shall continue to make it until my last
breath. Amen.
LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy
on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, 1
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal
Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy
Ghost in the womb of the Virgin
Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to
the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, sacred temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most
High,
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate
of heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of
charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and
love,
xiv
Litany of the Sacred Heart. xv
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and 1
love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all
praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and centre of all
hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the ful
ness of Divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was
well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fulness we
have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting
hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merci
ful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who in
voke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and
holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with op
probrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our of
fences, J
V£
O
xvi Litany of the Sacred Heart.
Heart of Jesus, obedient unto death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consola
tion,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrec
tion,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconcil
iation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for sin,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who
trust in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die
in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints,
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of
the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of
the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of
the world, have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart.
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.
Let us pray.
O almighty and eternal God, look upon
the Heart of Thy dearly beloved Son, and
upon the praise and satisfaction He offers
Thee in the name of sinners and for those
Litany of the Sacred Heart. xvii
who seek Thy mercy. Be Thou appeased,
and grant us pardon in the name of the
same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth
and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the
Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE
MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT
O Virgin Mary, OUR LADY OF THE
MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT, who
art the glory of Christians, the joy of the
Universal Church, and the hope of the
world, pray for us ! Stir up in all the
Faithful devotion to the Most Holy Eucha
rist, that they may render themselves
worthy to communicate every day.
An Indulgence of 300 days each time for
the recital of this prayer to Our Lady of
the Most Blessed Sacrament.
S. CARD. CRETONI, Praef.
January, 23, 1907.
INVOCATION TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST
BLESSED SACRAMENT.
Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacra
ment, pray for us !
joo days' Indulgence, when said before
the Most Blessed Sacrament exposed.
Pius PP. X.
December 30, 1905.
xvm
CONTENTS
Approbation iii
Preface iv
The Month of June vii
New Indulgences for the Month of the
Sacred Heart vii
Promises of Our Lord to Blessed Margaret
Mary ix
Daily Prayers for the Month of June.... xi
Litany of the Sacred Heart xiv
Prayer to Our Lady of the Most Blessed
Sacrament . xviii
FIRST DAY. — The Revelation of the Sacred
Heart 1
SECOND DAY. — The Primacy of the Sacred
Heart 19
THIRD DAY.— A Call to Adore the Eu-
charistic Heart 35
FOURTH DAY. — Joy and Tears Before the
Eucharistic Heart 50
FIFTH DAY. — The Heart of the Infant God. . 66
SIXTH DAY. — Heart of Jesus, Son of Mary. . 83
SEVENTH DAY. — The Sacred Heart in the Gift
of the Eucharist 101
EIGHTH DAY. — The Sacred Heart in the
Passion 118
NINTH DAY. — The Sacred Heart in Geth-
semani 136
TENTH DAY. — The Sacred Heart in Agony. . 148
ELEVENTH DAY. — The Wound of the Sacred
Heart 160
TWELFTH DAY. — The Sacred Heart and the
Sorrows of Mary 179
xix
xx Contents
THIRTEENTH DAY. — The Sacred Heart in the
Resurrection 197
FOURTEENTH DAY. — The Sacred Heart Abid
ing in the Eucharistic Presence 207
FIFTEENTH DAY. — The Precious Blood of the
Sacred Heart 217
SIXTEENTH DAY.— The Eucharistic Heart, the
Model of All Virtues 235
SEVENTEENTH DAY.— Jesus Humble of Heart. 256
EIGHTEENTH DAY.— Obedience of the Eu
charistic Heart 274
NINETEENTH DAY.— Obedience, the Glorious
Homage of the Eucharistic Heart 286
TWENTIETH DAY.— The Fidelity of the Heart
of Jesus 298
TWENTY-FIRST DAY. — The Sweetness of the
Heart of Jesus 316
TWENTY-SECOND DAY. — The Sacred Heart
and the Angels 335
TWENTY-THIRD DAY. — The Sacred Heart and
Purgatory 353
TWENTY-FOURTH DAY. — "Behold this Heart!" 372
TWENTY-FIFTH DAY. — The Holy Eucharist
and the Sacred Heart 386
TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. — The Holy Name of
Jesus 410
TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY.— The Sacred Heart
in the Host of the Real Presence 420
TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY. -The Eucharistic Heart,
the Palladium of the Church 435
TWENTY-NINTH DAY.— The Sacred Heart
and Eucharistic Reparation 455
THIRTIETH DAY.— The Eucharistic Heart
Pleading for Reparation 467
first
THE REVELATION OF THE SACRED HEART.
SUBJECT. — The Revelation of the Sacred
Heart, viewed as a whole, comprehends:
first, the manifestation properly so called of
the adorable Heart; secondly, Its serious
and sorrowful complaints; thirdly, Its de
sires and demands ; fourthly, Its magnificent
promises,
We shall gather them from the writings
of Blessed Margaret Mary and present them
to our readers. These words, coming forth
from the mouth of the Saviour under the
impulse of the various sentiments of His
Heart, are too eloquent to have need of
lengthy commentaries. It suffices to recall
them in order to rouse in turn lively feelings
of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and
petition.
ADORATION.
THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SACRED HEART.
" Once, when the Blessed Sacrament was
exposed, and I felt my soul abyssed in ex
traordinary recollection of all its powers and
2 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
senses, my sweet Master Jesus Christ pre
sented Himself before me all shining with
glory, His five Wounds brilliant as suns;
from every part of His Sacred Humanity
radiated flames, but above all from the re
gion of the Heart, which resembled a fur
nace. Opening His breast, He showed me
His all-loving and amiable Heart, the liv
ing source of these flames. It was then
that He discovered to me the inexplicable
wonders of His pure love, and to what an
excess He had carried it for the love of
mankind. . . ."
This first manifestation, in which the
Sacred Heart discovers Itself in Its double
object: the Heart of flesh beating in the
breast of a true Man, and the infinite love
with which Christ loved us and still loves
us, is followed up by a manifestation still
more brilliant and significant.
" Being before the Blessed Sacrament one
day in the octave of Corpus Christi, dis
closing to me His Divine Heart, the
Saviour said to me : ' Behold this Heart
which has so loved men that It has spared
nothing even to exhausting and consuming
Itself in order to show Its love/ "
First Day. 3
"Behold this Heart!"— He shows It
there under the veils of the Eucharist, which
He has miraculously withdrawn in order to
appear to the Blessed Sister. He shows It
living and beating in His open breast, the
source of the Blood that flows in His veins,
the motor of the life that animates Him.
He shows It loving, the organ of the af
fections of His soul, the sensible symbol of
His spiritual love of God and man and, as
we shall soon see It, offended at the cold
ness of men and longing to be loved.
It is truly the Heart of Jesus, insepa
rable from the Humanity of which It is one
of the essential organs, inseparable from the
Person of the Word who deifies It sub
stantially, inseparable from the Sacrament
whose sign alone can permit the Christ of
glory to remain really here below.
Let us adore the reality of Its double
nature, the divine and the human. Let us
adore the reality of Its life and love. Let
us adore Its real and abiding Presence in
the Eucharistic Christ. May our adoration
and homage, the profession of our faith and
love, pour themselves out at the foot of the
altar, before the tabernacle which has
guarded It since the evening of the Last
4 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Supper and which will guard It till the last
evening of the world !
THANKSGIVING.
THE PROMISES OF THE SACRED HEART.
The Promises with which it pleased Our
Lord to accompany the Revelation of His
Heart are magnificent as this manifestation
itself, which He calls " the last effort of
His love." Some regard the universal
Church and the whole world ; others are ad
dressed to special classes and show that
the Divine Heart is as delicate and attentive
as It is generous and magnificent.
The general Promises are so large and so
powerful that we may say that the Revela
tion of the Sacred Heart is a new effusion
of inexhaustible love equal, at least, to that
spread abroad by the Word on coming into
this world, or to that of the Spirit of Love
and Life on the days of Pentecost. " For,"
said the Saviour to the Blessed Sister, " My
Heart is so passionately in love with men
that, not being able to contain in Itself the
flames of Its burning charity, It must of
necessity allow them to burst forth. It
must reveal Itself to them in order to en-
First Day. 5
rich them with the precious treasures I have
shown thee and which contain all the sanc
tifying graces necessary to snatch them
from the abyss of perdition."
It might seem that, after Calvary and the
Eucharist, Christ could do nothing more for
us, since He had given His life and was
constantly renewing that gift in a perpetual
Sacrifice and in a Food repeated every day :
" In finem dile.rit." But in the Eucha -
rist there is a Heart swelling with love,
with unmeasured reserves of love accumu
lated for ages. On the day of Its Revela
tion, it burst forth anew : " For my
Saviour gave me to understand that the
great desire He experienced to be perfectly
loved by men had led Him to form a design
of manifesting His Heart, and of giving in
these last ages this final effort of His love,
by proposing to them an object and a means
so calculated to win them to love Him, and
love Him most truly."
The momentum of this effort opens to
the world, now old and decrepit, " all the
treasures of love, mercy, grace, sanctifica-
tion, and salvation that It contains, that
whoever will render to It and procure for
It all the honor and love possible, may be
6 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
enriched with a profusion of the divine
treasures of which It is the fruitful and
ever plentiful source."
The devotion to the Sacred Heart is a
repetition of the work of Redemption in
modern times, the apparition of a new
Mediator coming to reconcile to God the
world which the great apostasy of natural
ism has separated from Him. " My Saviour
gave me to understand," says Blessed Mar
garet Mary, " that His Sacred Heart is the
Holy of Holies, and that He willed It to be
known in our day in order to be a new
Mediator between God and men ; for He is
all-powerful to procure their peace by turn
ing away the chastisements that our sins
have drawn upon us and by obtaining for
us mercy." " What a happiness for you,"
she wrote to a fellow-laborer, " and for all
who contribute to make the Sacred Heart
known ! They secure for themselves there
by the eternal friendship and benediction of
that lovable Heart."
The Promises to all who confidently re
cur to the Sacred Heart are not less rich nor
numerous, for It is the open source of all
grace, the unfathomable ocean of all good.
We shall recall some of these Promises
First Day. T
enumerated by the Blessed Sister in a letter
to Pere Rollin :
" Why can I not recount all that I know
of this sweet devotion to the Sacred Heart
of Jesus? Why can I not discover to the
whole world the treasures of grace which
Jesus Christ encloses in His adorable Heart
and which He intends to pour forth pro
fusely upon them who practise this de
votion? Yes, I say confidently if we knew
how agreeable this devotion is to Jesus
Christ, there is not a Christian, how little
soever his love for this sweet Saviour, who
would not at once practise it.
" Try, above all, to make religious per
sons embrace it. for they will derive from it
so much help that no other means will be
necessary to restore first fervor in Com
munities even the least regular, and to lead
to the height of perfection those that already
live in the most exact regularity.
" My Divine Saviour has made me under
stand that they who labor at the salvation of
souls shall acquire the art of touching the
most hardened hearts and of laboring with
marvellous success, if they themselves arc
deeply penetrated with a tender devotion
toward His Sacred Heart.
8 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
" As for seculars, they will find by means
of this amiable devotion all the aid necessary
for their state, namely, peace in their
family, help in their labors, the blessing of
Heaven on their undertakings, consolation
in their trials. It is, indeed, in this Sacred
Heart that they will find a refuge during
their whole life and chiefly at the hour of
death. Ah, how sweet it is to die after hav
ing had a constant devotion to the Heart of
Him who is to be our Judge ! "
Who does not feel himself reanimated
and encouraged to labor and combat, to
support trials, to confront suffering, when
sustained by such promises? And who
could fail to have, according to the words of
Blessed Margaret Mary, " a grateful love
for Jesus Christ such as is that which is
shown Him by the devotion to His Sacred
Heart?"
REPARATION.
THE COMPLAINTS OF THE SACRED HEART.
Some are general, and others particular;
but all are full of that deep and bitter sad
ness that springs from the disappointment
of one who, having made many and great
First Day. 9
advances, has a right to expect reasonable
returns, and yet receives them not.
" Behold this Heart that has so loved
men," said the Saviour, sensitive and justly
jealous of His love; and He added sadly:
" And in return, I receive for the most
part only ingratitude by their irreverence
and sacrileges, by the coldness and contempt
they have for me in this Sacrament of
Love ! "
As the manifestation showed the ador
able Heart in the Sacrament, revealing the
Presence, the life, the love of the Christ in
that inert symbol, so does He complain of
the insults that wound Him in the Eucha
rist, as much by cold and contemptuous ab
stention from It as by irreverent and sacri
legious reception of It. If we consider one
by one the outrages of which this loving
Heart complains, we shall be filled with con
trition for our own shortcomings and com
passion for the Adorable Victim of human
ingratitude. Again He complains of " re
ceiving only ingratitude and forgetfulness
from those that He has loved even to ex
cess," and He adds : " That is much more
sensible to Me than all I endured in My
Passion. If they would render Me some
10 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
return of love, I should look upon all I
have done for them as little and I should, if
that were possible, do still more. But they
meet My eagerness to do them good with
coldness and rebuffs."
Lastly, comes this moan of anguish, which
caused Blessed Margaret Mary insupport
able grief : " I thirst, but with a thirst so
ardent to be loved by men in the Most
Blessed Sacrament that I am consumed by
it. I find no one who tries to meet My de
sire, who tries to slake My thirst by making
Me some return for My love ! "
Having given utterance to His com
plaints against " the most part " of men
who despise and outrage Him, the Divine
Master specifies His grief respecting some
particular classes of individuals. He men
tions those whom He loved more, whom He
called to His own immediate service, and
whom He loved with a love of predilection,
loading them with the most excellent gifts.
They are His priests, religious, consecrated
virgins, persons who make profession of
piety, and whose infidelity is most injurious
to Him. And He said: "What is still
more grievous to Me is that there are hearts
consecrated to Me who treat Me thus ! "
First Day. 11
On another occasion, He said : " My
chosen people persecute Me in secret and ir
ritate My justice. But I will expose their
secret sins by striking chastisements, for I
will sift them in the sieve of My sanctity
in order to separate them from My well-
beloved." " Showing me then His loving
Heart all torn and transpierced with blows,
He said to me : ' Behold the wounds I have
received from My chosen people. Others
are satisfied with striking My Body, but
they attack My Heart which has never
ceased to love them.'
" One day after Holy Communion, my
Saviour presented Himself to me, torn and
disfigured, as the Ecce Homo. He said:
' I find no one willing to give Me shelter in
this suffering and sorrowful state ! ' This
sight filled me with so lively sorrow that
death would have been a thousand times
sweeter to me than to see my Saviour in
such a condition. He said to me : ' If thou
didst know who it is that put me in such a
state, thy sorrow would be much greater!
Five souls consecrated to My service have
treated Me as thou dost see ! '
" One day after Holy Communion, He
showed me a frightful crown formed of
12 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
nineteen very sharp thorns which pierced
His divine head. The sight filled me with
such sorrow that I could express my
sympathy only by tears. He told me that
He had come to look for me that I might
draw out these thorns for Him, which had
been forced in by an unfaithful spouse. ' She
pierced Me with as many thorns as she pre
ferred herself to Me by her pride/ "
From the multitudes, from His friends
and spouses, from all ranks of Christian
society, He receives but ingratitude, indif
ference, and outrage. " And that is more
deeply felt by Him than all that He endured
in His Passion ! " Not that Jesus suffers
physically or morally. He has entered
into His glory and He can no longer suffer.
But when still passible, He foresaw all these
injuries, and endured all their sorrow and
humiliation. At present He still experi
ences injuries, but in the manner of a God,
without any diminution of His beatific joy,
without any alteration of His immortal life.
But that certainly does not lessen the cul
pability of our offences, which surely strike
and attack Him, and it imposes upon every
one of us contrition, penitence, and repara
tion ; for who has not contributed his share
First Day. 13
of bitterness by his forgetfulness, irrever
ence, and perhaps sacrilegious betrayals of
this Heart of the Divine Friend, so prevent
ing and so faithful?
PETITION.
THE DESIRES AND DEMANDS OF THE SACRED
HEART.
In the first Revelation of His Heart, on
the feast of St. John the Evangelist, Blessed
Margaret Mary says : " The Divine Heart
was represented to me on a throne of fire
and flames, shooting out rays on all sides,
more brilliant than the sun, and transparent
as crystal. The wound that It had received
upon the cross was plainly to be seen. A
crown of thorns encircled the Divine Heart,
which was surmounted by a cross. It was
presented to me with these words : ' I
thirst ardently to be loved and honored by
men in the Blessed Sacrament ! ' :
In another place she writes : ' The
Sacred Heart wishes to establish Its reign.
He said to me : 'I will reign ! '
" He desires to enter with pomp and
magnificence into the palaces of princes
and kings, to be honored therein as much
3
14 The Eucharistic PI ear t of Jesus.
as He was outraged, despised, and
humiliated during His Passion. He wishes
to receive as much pleasure from beholding
the great ones of the earth abased and
humbled before Him as He once felt bitter
ness at seeing Himself annihilated at their
feet. Here are the words that I heard on
this subject: 'Make known to the eldest
son of My Sacred Heart that I wish him to
consecrate himself to My adorable 'Heart
which desires to triumph over his and, by
his intervention, over those of the great ones
of the earth. It wishes to reign in their
palaces, to be painted on their standards,
and engraven on their arms, thus to render
them victorious over all their enemies and
those of Holy Church/ "
The Divine Master now makes His de
sires more specific, and transforms them into
formal demands akin to commandments.
He preludes them by this striking suppli
cation : " Do thou, at least, give Me the
satisfaction of supplying for their ingrati
tude as far as thou art able ! "
" When I represented to Him my im
potence, He replied to me : ' Well, then,
behold wherewith to supply for all that is
wanting to thee ! ' and at that moment the
First Day. 15
Divine Heart opened, and there shot forth
a flame so ardent that, thinking I should be
consumed, I begged Him to have pity on my
weakness. ' I will be thy strength,' He said
to me, ' fear nothing. But be attentive to
what I ask of thee for the accomplishment
of My designs :
" * First, thou shalt receive Me in the
Most Blessed Sacrament as often as obedi
ence will permit, whatever mortification and
humiliation it may bring upon thee.'
" ' Secondly, thou shalt communicate the
first Friday of every month.'
" ' Thirdly, every night between Thurs
day and Friday, thou shalt rise between
eleven and twelve to keep Me company in
that prayer which I then offered to My
Father, and I shall make thee share in the
mortal sadness that I willed to suffer in the
Garden of Olives. Thou shalt prostrate,
thy face on the ground, as much to appease
the divine wrath by imploring mercy for
sinners as to assuage the bitterness that I
felt from the abandonment of My Apostles,
which forced from Me the reproach that
they could not watch one hour with Me.'
" ' Fourthly, I demand of thee that the
first Friday after the octave of Corpus
16 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Christi be dedicated as a special feast to
honor My Heart, by communicating on that
day and making to It an Act of Reparation
to repair the indignities It has received
during the time It was exposed on the
altars/ ';
Private homages, public honors, more fre
quent Communions, more prolonged attend
ance near His Tabernacle in one same
prayer, public reparation and compensation
—these are the demands of the Sacred
Heart.
Jesus insists on this point of reparation
by telling Blessed Margaret Mary to offer
herself with Him as a victim for sinners,
and to accept the chastisement due their
sins in order to obtain for them mercy.
" It is true, My daughter, that My love
has made every sacrifice for men without
their making Me any return. But at least
do thou afford Me the satisfaction of sup
plying, as far as thou art able, for their
ingratitude by the merits of My Sacred
Heart. For that purpose, I wish to give
thee My Heart. But first of all, I seek
for this Heart a victim that will sacrifice
self as a host of immolation for the accom
plishment of My designs."
Our Lord demands these reparations for
First Day. 17
secret sinners: " My justice is irritated and
ready to punish secret sinners by manifest
chastisements if they do not penance. I
wish to make thee know when My justice
will be ready to deal its blows upon those
criminal heads. It will be when thou wilt
feel the weight of My sanctity upon thee.
Thou oughtest then to raise thy heart and
hands to heaven by prayers and good
works, to present Me continually to My
Father as a victim of love immolated for
the sins of the world, and place Me as a
rampart between the divine justice and sin
ners in order to obtain My mercy."
Jesus demanded, above all, reparation
for the time in which sin abounds, namely,
the Carnival. " During the time of the
Carnival, Our Lord presented Himself to
me under the form of an Ecce Homo laden
with His Cross and all covered with wounds
and bruises. His adorable Blood was flow
ing on all sides, and He said to me with a
voice painfully sad : ' Will no one have
pity on Me, compassionate and share My
sorrow in the pitiable state to which sin
ners have reduced Me, especially at pres
ent?'
" I presented myself to Him and pros
trated at His sacred feet with tears and
18 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
groans. He laid His heavy Cross upon my
shoulders. Feeling myself weighed down
by it, I began to understand better the
malice and gravity of sin. I detested it so
strongly in my heart that I would have pre
ferred a thousand times to cast myself into
hell than voluntarily to commit one."
The reparation that Jesus demanded so
earnestly of Blessed Margaret Mary, the
adorable Heart expects from all Christians
who pretend to love Him, for to repair is to
love, and not to repair is not to love.
Blessed Margaret Mary says : " The
Sacred Heart demands souls reparatrix, who
will give Him love for love and who will
most humbly implore pardon of God for all
the injuries done Him. By means of this
Divine Heart, it will belong but to us to
satisfy Divine Justice."
Let us sincerely ask strength for this, and
let us generously resolve to " fill up in our
body what is wanting to the Passion " of
His Heart.
Pray for an increase of adorers of our
Eucharistic Lord.
May the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus be
blessed !
(50 days' Indulgence.)
Second
THE PRIMACY OF THE SACRED HEART.
The universal primacy belonging to Our
Lord Jesus Christ by every title, and which
ought to be accorded Him by the worship
of heaven and earth, is magnificently pic
tured by St. Paul the Apostle in the follow
ing words : " Giving thanks to God the
Father, who hath made us worthy to be
partakers of the lot of the saints in light.
Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom
we have redemption through His Blood, the
remission of sins: who is the image of the
invisible God, the first-born of every
creature: for in Him were all things
created in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominations, or
principalities, or powers: all things were
created by Him and in Him: and He is
before all, and by Him all things consist.
And He is the Head of the body, the
Church, who is in the beginning, the first-
19
20 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
born from the dead, that in all things He
may hold the primacy: Ut sit in omnibus
ipse primatum tenens; because in Him it
hath well pleased the Father that all ful
ness should dwell : Quia in ipso complacuit
omnen plenitudmem inhabitare "(1).
What St. Paul says of Christ, let us say
of His Heart deified by the hypostatic
union. That Heart is the symbol of the life,
of the love, and of the sufferings of Jesus.
All primacy belongs to Him by right. We
ought, then, in very truth, to give Him
everywhere the first place, since the pleni
tude of all perfection, divine and human, re
sides in Him.
ADORATION.
To the Heart of the Son of God made
Man belongs the Primacy of being, of dig
nity, and of excellence. We ought to give
Him the first place in our love, our worship,
and our life.
In the adorable compound of the Word
Incarnate, the Sacred Heart of Jesus oc
cupies the first place, because It is, at least
as the symbol, the sanctuary in which re
sides His Divinity, the principle of His
(i) Coloss. i, 12-19.
Second Day. 21
divine and human life, the furnace of His
love, the source of His virtues, the sublime
strength which made Him embrace and
support all the sufferings of His Passion
and even death itself, the treasure-house of
all the gifts of grace and of the living Gift
of Himself in the Eucharist. That Heart
is, in fine, the cause of His own glory, and
the eternal centre of the glory of the elect.
The Heart of Jesus is the love of Jesus.
Is not love the good par excellence, the good
infinite in itself? Deus charitas est, and
the cause of all the good that has ever been
created in the world of nature and of grace.
Chantate perpetua dilexi te, ideo atiraxi te
miserans. Pere Eymard wrote : " The
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus is the end of the
Incarnation, the Redemption, and of the
Eucharist Itself, because It is the consum
mation of love ! " May It hold the first
place in our love, also, in our worship, and
in our life !
May It hold the first place in our love,
by our esteeming It above everything else,
by our preferring It to everything else ! Let
us make in our heart a dwelling-place re
served absolutely for It alone, which It may
possess without division. Let ns in Its re-
4
22 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
gard practice as perfectly as possible the
First Commandment, " loving It with our
whole mind, with our whole heart, with our
whole soul, with all our will, and all our
strength."
May It hold the first place in our worship
in such a way that all our religion, all our
devotions, whether toward Mary, toward
the Passion, even toward the Eucharist, may
end in the adorable Heart which gave us
Mary and His Blood, and which ceases not
to give us His Sacrament!
May It hold the first place in our life in
such a way that It may possess, inspire, con
duct, correct, and sanctify our whole in
terior ! Let us make profession of depend
ing on It in everything, and of doing noth
ing but to serve and please It, of being de
voted and consecrated to It, immolated to
It without power of withdrawal. This is
the adoration that the Primacy of Its
unique excellence, Its sovereign dignity, Its
supreme authority demands for It. It is
thus that It will reign over us.
Blessed Margaret Mary tells us : " The
Sacred Heart wishes to establish Its reign,
and It has said to me, ' I shall reign ! I
shall reign in spite of Satan and of all those
Second Day. 23
that Satan excites in opposition to It. Satan
and his adherents shall be confused ! ' The
adorable Heart of Jesus wishes to establish
in all hearts the reign of Its pure love, by
proposing to Christians in these last ages
the object and the means most proper to en
gage them to love It, and to love It solidly.
This is what It has given Its unworthy
slave to understand. May all, then, yield
to It ! May all be submissive, may all obey
Its divine love! This is the most earnest
desire that the adorable Heart has given
me"(l).
THANKSGIVING.
The Sacred Heart possesses and exercises
in our behalf the Primacy of goodness and
love. It desires to hold the first place in
our gratitude.
The creature having no right over God,
no debt to demand, it is evident that all the
gifts and favors of nature, of grace, and of
glory flow from the altogether free, spon
taneous, and gratuitous love of God. God
has so loved the world as to give it His
(1) Vie et Oetivres de la Bienheuretise Mar
guerite-Marie Alacoque, publication du monas-
tere de la Visitation de Paray-le-Monial .— Pous-
sielque, Paris.
24 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
only Son. The Son so loved men as to de
liver Himself to death to ransom them. He
has so loved His own who are still on earth
as to go to the extreme limit of love by
making Himself their never-failing food;
and He will hereafter love them so much
that He will give Himself to them without
measure or end in the communication of
His glory and beatitude : " Propter nimiam
charitatem suam, qua dilexit nos!"(l)
How could it be possible that all goods
and gifts and delicate attentions, all lights
and helps and support, all consolations and
victories, all hopes and tenderness and joys
would not be ours with the gift of Himself,
which Jesus makes so generously and multi
plies so abundantly? " Quomodo non etiam
cum illo omnia nobis donavit? "(2)
But this eternal love of God, which gave
to us the Word at Bethlehem, — this love of
the Word Incarnate, which gave to us the
Christ of Calvary, which still gives us the
Christ of the Altar with all His gifts, is the
Sacred Heart. When revealing It to the
modern world, Jesus says in an outburst of
tenderness : " Behold this Heart which has
(1) Ephes. ii, 4-6.
(2) Rom. viii, 32.
Second Day. 25
so loved men that It has spared nothing,
even exhausting and consuming Itself in
order to testify to them Its love ! " Every
good thing, then, comes to us from that
Heart, and it is thus that It exercises the
Primacy of love and benevolence.
In return for all this love, the Sacred
Heart longs to hold the first place in our
gratitude. To satisfy that most legitimate
desire, all the thanksgiving of our heart
should incessantly mount toward It ; all Its
benefits should be for us an occasion for pro
claiming to It our thanks. For life, health,
and temporal goods, for our Christian vo
cation, grace, preservation from evil, vic
tory over temptation, pardon of sin, for
faith and love, for every act of virtue and
for the success of our labors, we owe that
dear Heart thanks. For the Holy Mass
and Communion, for the great protection
of the abiding Presence of Jesus in the
tabernacle, for the never-failing assistance of
our guardian angels, for the maternal love
of Mary, our Mother, and the devoted
vigilance of the Holy Church, we owe heart
felt thanks. For these and all other bene
fits, our hearts should spring up to the
Sacred Heart, devoting itself to It In
26 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
humble, faithful gratitude — gratitude that
knows no bounds, that is never satisfied,
but that is constantly seeking to express
itself still more. Yes, our gratitude should
lead us to abandon ourseves blindly to Its
ever-benevolent guidance, which is always
aiming at our welfare, no matter what It
may permit to befall us.
" Jesus Christ made known to me," says
His blessed confidante, Margaret Marv
" that He wished by solid devotion to His
Divine Heart, to gather an infinite number
of faithful servants, of perfect friends, and
of children truly grateful." And she adds •
" It is certain that there is no one in the
world who would not experience all kinds
of favors from Heaven if he had for Jesus
Christ a grateful love such as is testified to
Him by devotion to His Sacred Heart."
REPARATION.
The Sacred Heart claims the Primacy of
suffering endured for redemption from sin.
This prerogative gives It the right to pos
sess the first place in the compassion of our
heart and in our contrition for sin.
When in spite of all the sin of mankind
and the irreparable misfortunes with which
Second Day. 27
they inundated the world, the Son of God
enjoyed undiminished plenitude of happi
ness in the bosom of the Father, His love
for us urged Him to assume the responsi
bility of our prevarication together with
its rigorous chastisement. Having taken
for that end the possible condition of guilty
man condemned to suffering and death, He
took upon Himself all our sins and bore
them on His shoulders even to the Cross,
that He might wash away their stains in His
own Blood and destroy their guilt by His
death. All humiliations and ignominies, ail
sorrows of mind and heart, all sufferings
that bruise and wounds that tear the body,
He has taken upon Himself. He has em
braced them, He has delivered Himself up
to them. He has been wounded, devoured,
consumed by them. He has suffered in His
own Person more than all men in the world
ever endured. He has suffered the greatest
possible torments. He endured them in all
their horror, in all their keenness, without
the least alleviation. He suffered them
freely and voluntarily. He sanctified them,
He rendered them fruitful by His perfect
virtues and infinite merits. He threw into
them above all, His love, all His love for
The Eucharist ic Heart of Jesus.
His Father in order to avenge Him, to
satisfy Him, and all His love for man in
order to save him. And His Heart, open
upon the Cross and always open on the
altar, the first Inspirer of this design, the
principal Instrument of this work, proclaims
Its Primacy in His redemptory suffering:
" Come and see whether there be sorrow like
unto My sorrow!" Vlrum dolorum! He
was the Man of sorrows. He exhausted in
Himself the reality of every suffering:
Sclent em infirmatem. Jesus is the only one
who knew how to render sorrow holy,
vivifying, victorious, and glorious. He is
the only Repairer of God's glory, the only
Redeemer of all mankind : Si posuerlt pro
peccato aniniam suam, videbit semen lon-
gcevum ( 1 ) .
Thus does Jesus with good right claim
the first place in the compassionate love of
our heart, the first place in the contrition
and penitence which we ought to conceive
for our sins, and in the implacable hatred
with which we ought to pursue sin. Has
He not a right, He who, for love of us, suf
fered more to restore us to the life of grace
(1) Is. liii, 10.
Second Day. 29
than our mother did in giving us birth, —
has He not a right to behold our heart con
secrated to compassionating Him, to con
soling Him with all the tenderness and pity
that they possess? He demands, He seeks.
He implores this consolation from His re
deemed: Sustinui qui simul contristaretur
. . . ct qui consolaretur (1). " Do thou,
at least," did He say to Blessed Margaret
Mary, " do thou endeavor to comfort Me by
making Me some return ! " Ah ! let us, too,
weep over Him as over the Being the most
beloved and the piost to be pitied, our onlv
Well-Beloved.
Let us arm ourselves against sin with love
for Him who was its innicent Victim. We
conceive true sorrow, generous and vic
torious hatred for evil only in proportion as
we see in sin the cause of all the sufferings
and death of the Just One par excellence,
and comprehend that the malice of sin is as
great as the Passion of Jesus, that is to say
infinite. Let us, then, pursue it to the death
in ourselves and in souls, wherever it makes
ravages, hourly crucifying, even with in
creasing hatred, if that were possible, its
(1) Ps. Ixviii, 21.
30 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesuf.
innocent Victim. We shall punish it by
works of penance generously embraced.
We shall expiate it by courageously ac
cepting the pains and sufferings sent us by
Almighty God.
Disclosing the abyss of His unfathomable
bitterness, Jesus said : " What I endure
from their ingratitude is more painful to Me
than all I endured in My Passion ! " " And
He asked me," says Blessed Margaret Mary,
" whether I would not stay by Him on the
Cross, telling me that I ought to groan, to
weep with Him incessantly to obtain mercy,
that sin might not reach its height, and that
God would pardon sinners through the love
He bears this amiable Heart." The gener
ous daughter replied : " O my Saviour, dis
charge upon me all Thy anger, efface me
from the Book of Life, rather than the loss
of those souls that have cost Thee so dear ! "
PETITION.
Prayer supposes two essential things:
the bountiful liberality of God, from whom
alone can come to the creature all kinds of
benefits necessary for furthering him on to
the infinite good, which is eternal happi
ness; and the power of intercession, which
Second Day. 31
moves that liberality and inclines Him to
grant us His gifts. The Sacred Heart here,
again, possesses and exercises a double
Primacy, that of beneficent goodness, and
that of all-powerful mediation.
Heart of the Son of God, the sum total
of all goodness, It is the ocean of all created
goods, which flow from this inexhaustible
source. It is " from the treasury of this
Divine Heart," infinitely good, that are
ceaselessly brought forth " all good things
both old and new." It glories in being
prodigal and magnificent when invoked with
confidence. " You have never asked any
thing of Me. Ask, then, and you shall re
ceive ; for, Amen, I say to you, if you abide
in Me, if you continue to pray lovingly to
Me, whatever you demand, shall be granted
you."
Heart of man deified, It is the Heart of
the Priest infinitely pure and loving, always
pleasing to the Father, always heard by
Him. It is the Heart of the Sacred Victim
who has purchased with His Blood all kinds
of benefits for redeemed man.
Heart of Man victorious, It has received
by a new title of conquest the full posses
sion and sovereign dispensation o£ all riches
32 The Eu char istic Heart of Jesus.
for men now become Its happy subjects. By
all these titles, It is the perfect and all-
powerful Mediator, the only Mediator by
right, through whom we are sure of being
heard and of having our prayers granted.
It is for this reason that Jesus wishes to
possess the first place in our confidence, our
hopes, and our prayers. It is to Him, above
all other mediators, however powerful or
benevolent they may be, that we must make
known our desires, raise our eyes, and ex
tend our hands. It is to Him that we must
discover the shocking state of our wants,
our miseries, our wounds, how deep soever
they may be, however incurable they may
appear. It is by Him, by His intercession
as universal and eternal High Priest, by His
indefatigable pleading as our almighty Ad
vocate, that all our requests must ascend.
If our confidence wavers, if our prayers
hesitate, Jesus has no longer in our hearts
the undisputed and incontestable Primacy
that He ought always to hold there.
Is not the Sacred Heart the Heart of the
merciful Priest, compassionating all our
needs, because It has Itself experienced
them? of the faithful Priest, who has bur
dened Himself with all our interests, and
Second Day. 33
who stands before God, always interced
ing for us? of the eternal Priest, in fine,
who, upon our earthly altars as on that of
glory, never ceases to offer His Sacrifice of
infinite value for our salvation? "It is by
Him, O Lord, Thou dost always create,
sanctify, quicken, bless, and give us all these
good things — Per qucm hacc omnia semper
bona crcas, sanctificas, vivificas bcnedicis ct
praestas nobis " ( 1 ) .
Let us, then, seconded by the saints and
their Queen, go straight to the Sacred
Heart. Let us implore It and always, in
every conjecture and for everything, pray
by It. Let us invoke It for ourselves and
our brethren, for the whole world, the world
of the living and that of the dead. It has
charge of all, and It is sufficient for all.
Blessed Margaret Mary, Its confidante,
writes : " Our Lord gave me to understand
that His Heart is the Saint of saints, the
Saint of love, that He wishes It to be known
in our day that It may be the Mediator be
tween God and men, for It is all-powerful to
procure us peace and mercy, by turning
away the chastisements which our sins have
attracted."
(1) Canon of the Mass.
34 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Est ante omnes, ipse caput . . . qui
est principium . . . primogenitus: O
Sacred Heart, whom I adore in Thy hidden
Presence, and yet so living and so loving in
the Blessed Sacrament, Thou art above all
things, the Head, the Principle, the First
born of all hearts! To Thee in my heart,
in all hearts, be the first place, the Primacy,
recognized, loved, adored, obeyed, forever
established and forever invoked : Ut sit
ipse in omnibus priinatum tencns.
Pray for an increase of devotion among
the Faithful toward the Eucharistic Heart
of Jesus.
May the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus be
blessed.
(50 days' Indulgence.)
Ubfrfc
A CALL TO ADORE THE EUCHARISTIC HEART.
" Come, let us praise the Lord with joy,
let us joyfully sing to God, our Saviour.
Let us come before His presence with
thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise to
Him with psalms; for the Lord is a great
God, and a great King above all gods. For
in His hands are all the ends of the earth,
and the heights of the mountains are His.
For the sea is His, and He made it, and His
hands formed the dry land." (Ps. xciv.)
ADORATION.
This Psalm, as its text expresses and as
commentators agree, is a call to prayer, an
invitation to divine worship. The Church
has chosen it for the " Invitatory " of her
Breviary, by which she daily exhorts her
sacred ministers in the name of the Faithful
to acquit themselves toward God of the chief
duty of public praise. Adoration of the
Most Blessed Sacrament is one of the forms
of worship and praise. This Psalm con-
35
36 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
tains, then, the call of the Holy Spirit, who
inspired it, to all Christians to come before
the real and merciful Presence of God on
our altars, there to render their homage of
adoration, praise, and prayer.
Logically analyzed, this Psalm contains:
a pressing exhortation to come and adore
the Lord in His temple ; an enumeration of
His titles to our adoration, which create
for us so many duties on that point ; the in
dication of a certain number of acts which
our adoration ought to comprise ; and, lastly,
the very grave penalty fulminated by the
Lord against an absolute refusal to adore
Him. From this we may justly fear that
negligence to adore Him as much and as
well as He has a right to expect of us in
dividually, will not go without its punish
ment.
" Venite! " Come, says the Holy Ghost
by the mouth of the Psalmist, hasten! no
hesitation, no delay ! Leave your couch, go
out of your dwelling, discontinue your labor,
interrupt your wordly conversations, quit
every other occupation, in order to fulfil the
great work of prayer ! That is the principal
duty of life, the only duty absolutely neces
sary, under one form or another, in a de-
Third Day. 3?
gree more or less great, but from which no
one, in whatever place, in whatever state he
may live, can be entirely dispensed. It is
the chief end of the rational creature, for
prayer constitutes the personal service of
God, and man is created, above all else, to
praise and serve God. " Venite! "
Come in the morning to consecrate your
day to God. Come in the morning before
your daily occupations have engrossed your
attention and your time, and thus secure to
God His share, for He ought always to
come first. Come in the evening to finish
your day in Him who is to be the eternal
end of your life, and to submit all its ac
tions to Him who will on the last day judge
them without appeal. Come even at night,
because the night belongs to Him as well
as the day. Come to sanctify it by the part
of it that you will offer to Him in sacrifice,
and by the salutary repose He permits you
to take during it. Come, then, come from
all sides. Hasten ! " Venite! "
"Let us come before His presence!" Let
us seek the Face of the Lord, and let us
come into His Presence, for His Face, His
adorable Countenance, or His Presence, are
one and the same holy and desirable realitv.
38 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
What! is it necessary to leave the place in
which we are in order to seek the Face of
the Lord when there is question of adoring
and praising Him? Is not God present
everywhere? Is not every one of us very
near to Him, so that we " are, we live, and
we move in Him ? " Is it not easy to dis
cover Him, to bless Him, under the features
of all creatures, whose first reason for exist
ing is to manifest by reflection His beauty,
His power, and His goodness? Certainly,
this universal Presence of God in nature is
very real. It is the attribute of His im
mensity, which contains all things ; of His
all-seeing eye, whose glance penetrates
everywhere ; and of His power, which main
tains and animates every being. This Pres
ence wills to be recognized and adored by
reason, respected by submission to the order
that It establishes, and by flight from sin
which disturbs It. It wills to be served by
the right use of all the goods It has created,
and loved through gratitude for the benefits
of which It is the generous dispenser.
Viewed in the light of supernatural revela
tion, It demands the faith, hope, love, and
praise of the heart, as well as that of the
lips.
Third Day. 39
But because It is necessary and invisible
in Itself, It testifies on the part of God less
love for man, and It is to him less accessible
and less favorable than certain other forms
of presence, by which God has willed to re
veal Himself to His privileged creature and
enter into relations with him. Such, for in
stance, is the supernatural, but altogether
spiritual, presence by which God in the
Trinity of His Persons, dwells in the soul
justified by grace; such, also, was the Pres
ence, partly sensible, by which He willed to
abide in the Ark of the Covenant, and later
in the Temple of Jerusalem. " I shall be
there all days in the midst of My people,"
He said. " My eyes will be open, My ears
attentive, and My Heart ready to receive
the petition of all that come to pray to Me
therein." The throne of this merciful
Presence was called the " propitiatory," that
is, the place chosen by God to draw near to
His people, to receive their religious hom
age, both public and private, and to grant
them help. Now, it was to that Temple, to
the foot of that altar, that the Psalmist ex
horted the adorers of the true God to go
seek His ever-helpful Presence and to find
40 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
His ever-benevolent Countenance. " Let us
come before His presence!"
THANKSGIVING.
This presence, however, is symbolical
and the signs that reveal this " Face " of
God are foreign to Him. Ah ! Lord, if
Thou wouldst only take a human face, ani
mated by a human soul, whose glance could
divine the affections of our heart, and whose
lips could express the thoughts of our mind !
If Thou wouldst take a face like our own,
which we could see, could recognize with
our eyes, and could not forget when out of
sight ! If Thou wouldst take a human face
that would at the same time be a divine
Face, because Thy divine Face, that is, Thy
eternal nature, would shine through its
features, and because one of Thy Divine
Persons had formed it and united it to Him
self to make of it His own countenance for
ever! Lord, how the whole earth would
then long for Thy Face, and with what
eagerness Thy people would seek Thy Pres
ence, now become human, though remain
ing all divine ! " Vultum tuum desiderat
universa terra!"
Ah! Thou hast heard this longing, O
Third Day. 41
good God, and hast satisfied this need of
earth ! And we have seen the Word made
Flesh dwelling among us, full of grace and
truth, showing us " in the goodness, the
amenity, and the smile of Our Lord Jesus
Christ, all that there is in Thee of love and
mercy for men ! " And Thy human Pres
ence, which the world began to enjoy at
Bethlehem, Thou didst not withdraw from
it even "when the time had come for Thee
to transfer It to the right hand of the
Father, there to receive Its glorious recom
pense. But simply hiding Its splendor by
the sacramental veil, Thou remainest with
us always God made Man in the Eucharistic
tabernacles everywhere multiplied. It is in
them Thou dost await our religious hom
age due to Thy Divinity and Humanity. It
is in them that we must seek Thee if wo
would freely pray to Thee with confidence
and love, since there it is that, remaining
our Lord and our God, Thou art at the same
time our Father and our Pastor, our Priest
and our Brother, like unto ourselves!
ff Venite, pr&occupemus faciem ejus!
Come, then, all ! Hasten to the Presence
of the Lord and adore Him ! "
42 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
REPARATION.
The Psalmist enumerates a certain num
ber of reasons very capable of leading souls
to adore God, the meditation of which in His
holy Presence should send up from our
heart to His throne acts of adoration and
canticles of praise.
First, " The Lord is a great God and a
great King above all gods : Quoniam Dens
ma gnus, ct Rex magnus siuper omnes deos."
The Psalmist here proclaims the essential
excellence of the Divine Being, which puts
Him in a rank absolutely apart and infinitely
above all created beings. His is by nature
infinite, and the only infinite, — infinite in
being, infinite in perfection, infinite in ac
tion, infinite in power, infinite in duration.
He transcends all created beings — the
kings of the earth, the demons (whom men,
dazzled by their power, call gods), and
even the angels, those gods created to serve
the one only great Lord and God. To Him,
therefore, on account of this incommuni
cable excellence, give the adoration that
belongs but to Him alone. To Him the
praise that He alone deserves, in which
every creature should disappear and be an-
Third Day. 43
nihilated, since He alone exists of Himself
and alone has -a right to be : " Quoniam
Deus magnus Dominus et Rex magnus super
omnes deosl "
Again, this great God, who exists of Him
self, is the Creator of all that is, both on
land and on sea. His power and immen
sity have hollowed out the fathomless
abysses of the ocean. The strength and
skill of His hands have consolidated the con
tinents and fashioned the wonders that
cover them : " Quoniam ipsius est mare, ct
ipsc fecit illud; et sic cam manus ejus for-
maverunt — For the sea is His, and He made
it, and His hands formed the dry land."
And because these mighty wonders of cre
ation with all that they contain, are born
of His thought and exist but by His will,
they belong to Him by right. If man is al
lowed to enjoy them, it is because it pleased
the great God to create them for his use and
happiness. " Quoniam ipsius est mare!"
The sole Creator of all that exists, hav
ing of His own free will called them forth
from the abyss of His being, He is their
absolute Master and Sovereign Ruler.
However extended the frontiers of His vast
empire, one, as they are, with the universe
44 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
itself, He tranquilly holds them in His
hand, which knows no weariness in govern
ing them : " Quia in manu ejus sunt omnes
fines terrae — For in His hand are all the
ends of the earth." However elevated the
mountain summits. He rules them with all
the dwellers upon them, in the might of His
boundless authority : " Et altitudines mon-
tium ipsius sunt — And the heights of the
mountains are His." The Roman psalter
says that the Lord " sees under His feet the
heights of the mountains — Et altitudines
montium ipse conspicit." It is again the
idea of God's supreme dominion over all that
He has created, with this difference, that
things the highest, in the moral, as well as
in the material world, dignities and royalty,
ambition and domination, science and riches,
power and pride, — all, all He regards with
supreme disdain, as a grain of sand under
His feet, and men who vaunt themselves on
such things appear in His eyes like atoms
scarcely emerged from nothingness: " Et
altitudines montium ipse conspicit! "
Another title which God has to our hom
age, one which touches us very closely and
which presses upon us with still greater
weight, is that He has made us, that He
Third Day. 45
is the Creator of man: " Adoremus. . . .
Domimts qui fecit nos." It is He that made
us, He, God in Three Persons, having con
ceived the idea before all ages and enter
tained the design in His eternal love : " Qui
fecit nos! " It is He who made us with His
divine hands, lovingly fashioning us with
paternal care to His own image and likeness,
not only by impressing His own intelligent
and loving nature upon our intelligence and
will, but by the supernatural communi
cation of His own life in the gift of sancti
fying grace, by the communication of His
own knowledge in the gift of faith, and of
His own love in the gift of divine charity:
" Ipse fecit nos!" It is He who made us,
masterpieces and kings of the world of
nature by the perfection of our rational
nature, children of His divine Paternity,
brethren of Jesus, His first-born, and heirs
of His glory by the entirely gratuitous adop
tion that He willed to make of us : (C Ipse
fecit nos!" Ah! what love on His side, and
what magnificent gifts to us ! What honor
and greatness and glory for us in that this
great God has willed to be our Creator and
we are His creatures: "Adoremus eum
. . . qui fecit nos!"
5
46 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
PETITION.
But all this was not enough. Having
made us, the great God willed to protect us
and lead us to our eternal destiny. He con
stituted Himself " our God and our Father,
and we are become the people of His pasture
and the sheep of His hand : " Quia ipse est
Dominus Deus noster, nos autem populus
pascuae ejus et oves manus ejus." It is the
touching and marvellous mystery of the pa
ternal providence of God over His elect that
the Psalmist evokes in these words, and
which demands our grateful adoration. It
is His providence that disposes the sure
ways that lead to heaven, that makes us en
ter therein, conducting us by the hand. It is
His providence that protects us and defends
us on those ways, that helps us with its suc
cors, that arms and furnishes us with all
the means of salvation. His providence it
is that feeds us with Divine Bread, which He
sends us every day from heaven, which con
tains, with all the virtue to sustain and de
velop our life, all the remedies to cure our
infirmities, and all the sweetness to console
and enliven: "Nos populus pascuae ejus
et oz'cs nmmis ejus!"
Third Day. 47
Why, excepting by our pride, our malice,
and ingratitude, our blindness and folly, are
we become creatures turned against this
Creator, subjects revolted against this
Sovereign, ungrateful children toward this
Father, and sheep escaped from the crook
of this Shepherd? This is a monstrosity
capable of casting earth and heaven into a
state of stupor and indignation. It imposes
upon us the obligation of adoring, by the
sincere confession of our sins and by the
bitter tears of our broken heart, the good
ness and holiness, the justice and mercy of
God : " Plorcmus ante Dominum — Let us
weep before the Lord ! " This spontaneous
and penitent avowal made here below before
the merciful Face of the Lord, is alone cap
able of preserving us from the public ac
cusation and eternal condemnation that we
shall have to undergo before the irritated
Face of the formidable Judge when He shall
appear to judge all men: " Prceoccupemus
faciem ejus in confessione — Let us come be
fore His Presence with thanksgiving ! "
A last motive for adoration proposed by
the Psalmist is : " God is our salvation —
Jubilemus Deo salutari nostro." As we
owe Him adoration because He is our first
48 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
principle, being our Creator and the source
of all our goods, we owe it to Him, also, as
to our last end, our necessary end, for whose
service and advantage alone we were
created. He is the supreme end dominating
all our life, commanding and directing it,
calling us, at last, to Himself to terminate
our earthly career, as well as to judge us.
All that is conformed to this end is good,
all that is contrary to it is bad. Now, God,
in His entirely gratuitous bounty, has willed
to be Himself our last end, and that the pos
session of Him should constitute our su
preme perfection, our supreme rest. Before
that man should fall, God willed to sanctify
him for his noble end; and after he had
fallen, He willed to raise him up and re
deem him from the eternal death which he
had incurred. It is in this that God is our
salvation : " Jubilemus Deo salutari nostro
— Let us rejoice in God, our Salvation!"
He is the object of our salvation, proposing
Himself as our infinite recompense and
eternal beatitude. He is the Agent of our
salvation, having become incarnate and hav
ing died, thus acquiring all the merits, and
disposing all the necessary means to enable
us to reach salvation: ff Jubilemus Deo
Third Day. 4:9
salutari nostro." By this title we owe to
God the adoration of hope and that of
prayer, demanding of Him insistently, and
firmly expecting from Him alone, the helps
of salvation faithfully to pursue our jour
ney here below ; the grace of final persever
ance, which alone assures salvation; and
lastly, the glory which puts the soul in the
definitive possession of God. Let us, then,
adore our Salvation and our Saviour and, as
says the text of St. Jerome : " The un
shaken rock of our salvation — Jubilemus
petrae Jesu nostro!"
Pray that you may hunger for Holy Com
munion.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I confide ;n
Thee.
(300 days' Indulgence.}
ffourtb
JOY AND TEARS BEFORE THE EUCHARISTIC
HEART.
Come, let us adore and fall dozvn, and
weep before the Lord that made us. For
He is the Lord, our God, and we are the
people of His pasture and the sheep of His
hand. Today if you shall hear His voice,
harden not your hearts, as in the provoca
tion, according to the day of temptation in
the wilderness, where your fathers tempted
Me. They proved Me, and saw My works.
Forty long years was I offended with that
generation, and I said: These always err
in heart. And these men have not known
My ways; so I swore in My wrath that they
shall not enter into My rest. (Ps. xciv.)
ADORATION.
In this Psalm the Holy Spirit reveal
many reasons for adoring God in the sanc
tuaries consecrated to His Real and Per
sonal Presence. He teaches, also, some of
50
Fourth Day. 51
the forms that may be lawfully used to ex
press our homage of adoration.
" Adoremus et procidamus." This is the
first act of adoration, exterior adoration:
Procidamus; and of interior adoration:
Adoremus. As soon as we appear before
the Face of God, it is our duty to recognize
Him, to salute Him by an exterior and pub
lic sign. And since His Presence is that of
the Divine Majesty, before whom the angels
constantly prostrate ; since It is that of the
risen Christ, before whom every knee should
bow in heaven, on earth, and even in hell, we
cannot do better than to bend our knees be
fore Him and profoundly incline our head.
This attitude is that of respect, of religion,
of dependence, which is proper for the
creature before his Creator, for the subject
before his King, for the servant before his
Lord, for the criminal in presence of his
Judge whom he wishes to appease. "Pro
cidamus! Let us fall down."
" Adoremus!" Interior adoration ought
to accompany that of the body, and give to
it a soul to render it true and spiritual, con
sequently, pleasing to God who, being spirit
and truth, wishes that they who adore Him
should do so in spirit and in truth. Adora-
52 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
tion should express man's nothingness in
presence of the plenitude of the Divine
Being, man's universal submission before
the fulness of the sovereign rights of God,
the gift of self to Him who is our principle
and our end, by the sacrifice of everything
that we are and of all that we possess to His
holy will and good pleasure. " Adoremus!
—Let us adore ! "
" Exult emus Domino! — Let us joyfully
sing to the Lord ! " Let us be joyful, let us
thrill with gladness, let our heart bound with
joy when before the Lord ! Is not this wor
ship of happiness, of joy, of thanksgiving,
as rightful as it is necessary when God
grants us the honor and, at the same time,
the favor of admitting us to His Presence?
Propriety, respect, good manners, are not
sufficient, joy must shine forth. Do we not
feel glad when gazing upon some marvellous
beauty? when meeting some one whom we
very much love? To behold one day His
Face unveiled will be infinite blessedness,
and to go into His eternal dwelling will be to
plunge into an ocean of joy. Although the
sacramental cloud that envelops His Pres
ence extends its shadow over our heart to
moderate ;the expression of our joy, tfre
Fourth Day. 53
sentiment of it should be neither less pro
found nor less lively. Like John the Bap
tist, though beholding his God through the
immaculate cloud of Mary's womb, let us
tremble with happiness when the star of the
sanctuary announces to us that He is there.
" Exult emus Domino! "
" fubilemus Deo, et in p salmis jubilemus ci
—Let us joyfully sing to God, and make a
joyful noise to Him with Psalms ! " If the
heart is full of joy, of necessity it pours it
self out in songs and canticles. Inward
speech is not sufficient for it, nor discreet
effusions, nor a moderate tone. It must cry
aloud its happiness. Besides, as songs are
one of the forms of homage rendered to
princes and victors, one of the features of
feasts and rejoicings among men, are can
ticles in which the voices are supported and
perfected by musical instruments. We
thus express our gratitude to God. It is by
hymns, in which admiration, love, en
thusiasm break away from that calm range
of prose, that we celebrate in harmonious
rhythm and all the freedom of poetry His
perfections, His greatness, and the wonders
of His love: (( Et in psalmis, jubilemus
ei!" Let us, then, sing to the Lord, min-
6
54 The Eucharist ic Heart of Jesus.
gling our voices with those of the choirs of
monks and nuns who solemnize the praises
of the liturgical Office ! Let us sing to the
Lord, uniting our acclamations with those
that accompany the public Sacrifice, in
which the Lamb gives to God transcendent
praise by the voice of His Blood. If it is
in private that we fulfil the duty of adora
tion, let us still sing, but in our hearts, as the
angels chant around the altar, as did Cecilia
on the day of her voluntary immolation to
the love of the Divine Spouse : " Et in
p salmis jubilemus eil"
THANKSGIVING.
" Praoccupemus faciem ejus in confes-
sione. . . . et ploremus ante Domi-
num!" The confession (1), the avowal of
our actual sins, of our past sins, of our pas
sions, our defects, our ignorance ; the sin
cere and humble avowal ; the repeated ac-
(1) " Praeoccupemus faciem ejus in confes-
sione." — This verse may be understood in two
ways: first, that we come before the Lord to
praise Him; secondly, as the Prophet teaches, the
confession of our own miseries may be mingled
with the praise of God's mercy. The Fathers
concur in this latter exposition. Bellarm., Com.
Ps. xciv, 2.
Fourth Day. 55
knowledgment, which implores pardon of
infinite Mercy ; the avowal which supplicates
Justice not to remember what the repentant
one has disavowed, — behold a necessary ex
pression of adoration for every man who
appears before the thrice-holy God, for all
are by nature sinners, and he who says that
he is not, is, at St. John declares, a liar.
This humble confession wins for us the
favor of the God of truth, who " willingly
looks upon the contrite and humble heart,
while He repulses and sees only from afar
the proud." This confession is, also, a can
ticle, the canticle of our weakness, our
frailty, our misery, to the glory of the good
ness, the longanimity, the patience, and the
Mercy of our Father: "In confessione
jubilemus ei!" This confession must be
completed by tears, those of the eyes or
those of the heart. They must be tears of
regret, of repentance, of true sorrow, the
sorrow of filial love, whose bitterness is
sweet, because it is demanded as an expia
tion, and whose value is precious before
God, because tears of contrition are the
blood of the soul immolated to God as a sac
rifice for sin: {C Ploremus ante Dominum!"
There are other sources of tears. They
56 The Eucharistic Heart of JcsuS.
may spring from compassion for the suf
ferings, the humiliations, and the abandon
ment of Jesus in His Passion. They may
be shed over the ingratitude, contempt, and
injuries of which He is the victim in the
Eucharist. They may be tears of charity
and zeal over the unhappy state of sinners
to obtain their conversion. They may be
tears of tender pity over the woes of the
Church, the Spouse of the Son of God, and
our Mother, combated by the furious hatred
of her enemies, and betrayed by her own
children. They may, also, be tears of de
sire, drawn forth by the pressure of a need
keenly felt, of succor ardently longed for.
Such tears intensify prayer. Lastly, joy,
too, has its tears to express its fulness, its
liveliness, its gratitude. Let them flow,
then, at the feet of the Lord. They honor
Him as a sacrificial libation, for they are an
effusion in which the soul itself flows out be
fore its Saviour, and nowhere can they flow
with more security than under His eye, nor
give to him who sheds them more peace and
consolation : " Ploremus ante Dominum ! —
Let us weep before the Lord ! "
" Ho die si voccm ejus audieritis, nolite
obdurare corda vestra — Today if you shall
Fourth Day. 57
hear His voice, harden not your hearts." In
these words we have the law of adoration
and its sanction. The Royal Prophet, who
had invited the Israelites to the adoration
of the Lord, revealed to them the reasons
for it and dictated various formulas for it.
He now gives place to the Lord to proclaim
in Person the obligation, which He will
sanction by threatening the most terrible
chastisement against the refractory, namely,
the refusal to admit them into His eternal
repose.
" Today, if you shall hear My voice,
harden not your hearts as did your fathers
in the desert, where they dared to tempt Me
and provoke Me, but where I showed them
My works," in wonders of power and good
ness. " For the forty long years that I was
with this people to conduct and protect them,
they excited My anger by their offences and
I saw that they always erred in heart. Their
sons have not desired to know My ways,
therefore, in My wrath I have sworn that
they shall not enter into my rest : Ut juravi
in ira mea: si introibunt in requiem meam! "
The voice of the Lord, awful and solemn,
had, indeed, resounded on Sinai, in the
noise of thunder and the terrors of light-
58 The Eucharistic Hear I of Jesus.
ning, and had uttered as the first command
ment of the Law : " The Lord thy God
shalt thou adore and Him only shalt thou
serve." But the people, following their car
nal instincts, prostrated before the altars of
the false gods that were honored among the
neighboring nations. On another occasion,
they made a golden calf out of the trinkets
of all the women of Israel and, offering it
incense, they solemnly adored it. The wrath
of the Lord was roused against these evil
doings, but the prayer of Moses appeased
Him. Then this too indulgent Father of a
people always too forgetful, to keep them
faithful, multiplied His miraculous benefits,
among them the manna falling every morn
ing from heaven to feed them and the water
bursting from the rock at the touch of the
rod of Moses to quench their thirst. The
obstinacy and ingratitude of the people ren
dering useless the continuance of His good
ness, the Lord condemned the whole guilty
generation to die in the desert and, conse
quently, never to enter the Promised Land,
the land of rest after their rude wanderings
of forty years. This land was an image of
the heavenly country in which God admits
His elect to a share in His eternal repose:
Fourth Day. 59
" Si introibunt in requiem ineaui! — They
shall not enter into My rest ! "
REPARATION.
This is the literal and historical sense of
the close of this Psalm. Its moral sense is,
that it is a fundamental obligation of the
natural law to adore God as reason shows
Him. The first duty of the positive law is
to adore God, who has revealed Himself in
the Holy Scriptures ; and the Son of God,
the Restorer of the Law, proclaimed it anew
in the Gospel in the presence of Satan, who
had dared to demand adoration from Him:
" Vade, Satana! Scrip trim est enim,
Dominum Deum tuum adorabis et illi soli
servies! — Begone, Satan! for it is written,
' The Lord thy God thou shalt adore and
Him only shalt thou serve ! '
Jesus came to seek upon earth adorers for
God, His Father. He instructed them in all
that can here below be known of His mys
teries, in order that their adoration might
be true, and He sanctified them interiorly
that it should be interior and spiritual. He.
immolated Himself in sacrifice on the Cross
that God might thus receive absolutely per
fect adoration, and He instituted the public
60 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
and essential rite of adoration in the Sacri
fice of His Flesh and Blood perpetually re
newed. He dictated the formula of prayer
which the Father always hears. He set
the example of divine praise, whether by
publicly blessing His Father, or by reciting
the Psalms, which received new consecra
tion in thus passing the lips of the Son of
God. Spending whole nights in the adora
tion of God, He taught us to prolong in the
watch of interrupted repose, the sacred
praises, the contemplation of the divine
mysteries, and unwearying supplication.
Claiming for His Father divine honors,
He demands them for Himself, also, declar
ing that He and the Father are one, and that
whoever sees Him sees the Father likewise.
The living Throne of God, who dwells in
Him personally. He has remained on earth
in the Most Blessed Sacrament, prescribing
to His Apostles and to all priests, their suc
cessors, to adore Him by offering " in
memory of Him," that is, to Himself and
His honor, the Eucharistic Sacrifice offered
by Himself to the Divine Father. He has
also ordained to the Faithful of all ages to
adore Him by eating His Flesh, which is to
believe in His Presence here below and to
Fourth Day. 61
profess their desire of living on It, food
being the principle of life.
Such is the promulgation and the grand
plan of the law of adoration by Christ, the
Son of God. Who does not understand that
it obliges in a supreme degree, and that who
ever rejects it deserves to be forever ex
cluded from the eternal peace promised by
Jesus to those that believe in Him! "Si
Introibunt in requiem meam."
The Church, heiress of the legislative
power of Jesus Christ and ordered by Him
to reduce to positive precepts the institutions
founded by His word and example, has or
dained that the offering of the Sacrifice of
the Mass shall be obligatory on certain days,
and the participation of the Faithful in it
by their personal presence also obligatory.
She has, too, made it a law that sacramental
participation in the Flesh of Christ, at least
once a year, shall be obligatory. To with
draw one's self from either of these precepts
of adoration, is to resist Jesus Christ and
to exclude one's self from His rest: "Si
introibunt in requiem meam!"
Providing for exterior adoration which
His personal Presence calls for. Holy
Church has consecrated to Him abodes
62 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
which she desires should be as worthy as
possible of His Majesty. She surrounds
them with guarantees which secure their
being exclusively devoted to His worship.
She organizes in them ceremonies of re
ligion and solemn pomp to honor Him and
preserve for Him the fidelity of men, who
have need of such means to rouse and ex
press their faith. To support these sacred
dwelling-places and the worship rendered
in them to the Christ-God, she authorizes
and encourages gifts and foundations which
form the personal treasure of the Eucha
ristic King become poor for us. To lay a
hand on these sacred abodes, to seize their
treasures, to thwart this worship, are so
many crimes against the law of adoration
due to God and His Christ, which rouse
their wrath and malediction: "Si introi-
bunt in requiem- meaml"
PETITION.
Christ having snatched His Apostles from
the servitude of the world in order to attach
them to His service by prayer and the apos-
tolate, the Church has imposed upon priests
in their freely chosen vocation a certain
amount of daily prayer and a recitation of
Fourth Day. 63
the divine praise, from which they may not
exempt themselves without violating a
sacred obligation. Then follows separation
from their Divine Master for eternity : " Si
introibunt requiem meant!3
And all they who, by the religious vows
or by private promises, have engaged to pav
to God a tribute of prayer, of various forms
or measure,— all henceforth, by a new title
and in proportion to their engagements,
come under the grand law of adoration.
They cannot be voluntarily unfaithful to it
without incurring the displeasure of God
and, perhaps, His anger. If they do nor
always expose themselves to the chastise
ment of irrevocable privation of the divine
rest, they certainly defer the possession of
it. In the fiery prison, where desires and
regrets are sharper than the bite of the most
penetrating flames, they will discharge the
debt of negligence to fulfil their duty of
prayer : " Si introibunt in requiem meant I "
We implore you, then, in the name of the
sovereign will of God, in the name of the
divine institution of Jesus, in the name of
His Presence here below and the desires of
His Heart, as well as in view of the most
sacred interests of your soul ; in the name of
64 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
your obligation to fulfil, of your needs to
satisfy, of consolation to find, of peace to
experience, and of even the joy that you
shall taste, priests, religious men and
women, priest-adorers, and you, also, ag
gregates of the Blessed Sacrament, all —
every time that you hear the voice of God,
under the sound of the bell that calls you,'
or under the form of the hand marking on
the dial the hour assigned you, harden not
your hearts: " Hodic si vocem Domini
andieritis, nolite, obdurarc cor da vestra!
Today if you shall hear the voice of the
Lord, harden not your hearts ! "
May sensuality and the love of our own
ease, may sloth and negligence oppress not
our hearts to enervate and hinder us from
promptly responding, without hesitation,
without delay, to the duty of praise or ador
ation ! May the dissipation of worldly con
versations, or the too eager pursuit of what
pleases render not our hearts so inconstant
as to forget the homage promised to God
and the satisfaction that He expects from it:
" Hodie si vocem Domini andieritis, nolite
obdurare cor da vestra ! "
It is the Creator who calls us to life. It
is the Saviour who calls us to grace. It is
Pourth Day. 3o
the Supreme Remunerator who will one day
call us to glory. It is He Himself who in
vites us today to adore and praise Him in
the Sacrament of His beneficent Presence.
Let us not do Him the injury, the wrong of
remaining deaf to His voice, which makes
known the tender love of His Heart:
" Hodie si vocem Domini audieritis, nolite
obdurare corda vestra!"
Ask Our Lord to increase your love for
the Blessed Sacrament.
May the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus be
blessed !
(50 days' Indulgence.)
ffiftb Dag.
THE HEART OF THE INFANT GOD.
THE state of the Incarnate Word in His
infancy offers to us an important study, be
cause it presents the first manifestation of
the Man-God on this earth. It is sweet to
contemplate, and it shows Him to us at the
first dawn of life, which is always clothed
with charms. The Heart of Christ, morally
and physically, animates this phase of His
life. To study Its state, Its functions, Its
sentiments during this radiant springtime,
which, however, is not undisturbed by
storms, is the subject of this adoration. In
it we shall set forth our duty to the Host
of Christmas, in which the Heart that began
to love and to redeem us at Bethlehem, con
tinues Its love for us and confers upon us
the fruits of Its first annihilations, Its first
benefits, Its first sorrows and prayers.
Blessed Margaret Mary composed a can
ticle very simple in form, but vigorous in
sense, full of sweet and tender love for the
Infant of Bethlehem. We shall give it here
in separate stanzas suited to the different
66
Fifth Day. C7
parts of this adoration, in order to present
our homage in union with this most perfect
and pleasing adorer of the Sacred Heart.
My turn near Him I've taken,
Sweet Babe, so oft forsaken;
May He my senses waken,
To hear His voice divine!
My love shall here be plighted,
My heart to His united,
And from It names be lighted,
To burn the dross from mine.
ADORATION.
" This day is born to you a Saviour, who
is Christ, the Lord, in the city of David.
And this shall be a sign unto you. You
shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling-
clothes and laid in a manger." In these
words did the angel announce to the shep
herds on the mountain the great news of
the birth of the Son of God become man.
Come, let us go to Bethlehem, to the
House of Bread, the Eucharistic Tabernacle.
Let us by faith raise the linens of the
Sacred Species that cover the Infant God.
Let us enter into His Heart, whose palpita
tions cause His breast to heave and send to
OS The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
His gracious countenance the brilliant hues
of His life-blood, as Mary lays Him in the
crib.
It is the Heart of a victim, for it is the
Heart of Him who, St. Paul says : " Emp
tied Himself, becoming obedient unto death,
even to the death of the cross — Exinanivit
semetipsum, formam servi accipiens, et
habltu inventus ut homo "(I). The weak
ness of life just begun, its feebleness, de
pendence, poverty, silence, or its inarticu
late wailing, its uncertain infantine gestures
— all betoken life in its greatest impotence,
existence emerging from the confines of
nothingness: Exinanivit semctipsum!
But It is at the same time the Heart of a
perfect man, of the most perfect of all men,
of the Head of humanity from all time ; for
this Heart is, even under Its appearance of
feebleness and in Its bonds of impotence, in
full possession of intellectual and moral life,
of supernatural and divine life in all their
plenitude of intensity and interior action.
The Beatific Vision fills It with light, love,
holiness, power, and joy; and if It com
presses in unfathomable depths the actual
(1) Philip, ii, 7.
Fifth Day. 69
joy of Its infinite gifts, It preserves the in
contestable possession of them, It employs
and utilizes their dominion. As It is, by
virtue of the exquisite communications of
the Divinity, the Head of all mankind, It
rules and sanctifies them, and offers to
God in their name the homage of a religion
absolutely perfect and worthy of Him.
Priest from the moment of the Incarnation,
and the only Priest for eternity, It exercises
Its sublime and necessary function for the
Father's glory and the profit of the world:
"Ad P 'ilium autem: Dilexisti justitiam et
odisti iniquitatem: propterca unxit te Dens,
Deus tuus, oleo exultatloms prae participi-
bus tuis — But to the Son : Thou hast loved
justice, and hated iniquity: therefore, God,
Thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above Thy fellows "(1).
But still more, it is the Heart of the only
Son of God ! Although formed of the sub
stance of a woman and nourished with her
milk, the Father recognizes in this Infant
the Son who lives in Him from all eternity.
He ceases not to say to Him in the annihila
tions of the Crib, as He said to Him in the
(1) Heb. i, 9.
70 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
splendor of His glory: " Filius metis es
tu, ego hodie gemii tc! — Thou art my Son,
this day have I begotten thee ! " I am, I shall
ever be His Father, He will always be My
Son : " Ego ero illi in Patrem, et ipse erit
mihi in Filium — I will be to Him a Father,
and He shall be to me a Son "(1).
Let us adore all these states of the Heart
of the Infant God. Every one of them is
true, immense, infinite. Their harmonious
whole makes of this Sacred Heart the ador
able masterpiece of the wisdom, the power,
and the love of God for us.
Eternal glory leaving,
For our poor hearts retrieving,
And triumph there achieving,
He makes in them His throne.
To earth He comes a stranger,
A Babe, His crib a manger,
To rescue us from danger,
To claim us for His own.
THANKSGIVING.
Because It is personally united to the
Eternal Word, of whom It is the true Heart,
which union sanctifies It with the most per-
(1) Ibid, i, 5.
Fifth Day. 71
feet holiness, which is that of glory; be
cause It is on that account the abode of
predilection of the Most Holy Trinity, it
cannot be but that the Heart of the Infant-
God should be beatified in Its substance,
clothed with definitive glory, filled with all
the joys of the Vision, both for Itself and
for all the members of which It is the super
natural Motor and the Furnace of life. But
while for Himself miraculously suspending
the sentiment of all these joys, in order to
give Himself up wholly to suffering ; think
ing of us, and knowing that we could not
possibly live without joy nor persevere in
our aim at eternal happiness without some
foretaste of it, He wills that His Heart
should be a source of delight pouring into
ours an abundant and inexhaustible stream :
" Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus Sal-
vat oris — You shall draw waters with joy out
of the Saviour's fountains " (1).
The angel announced it to the shepherds
as the great joy come down from heaven:
" Evangelizo vobis gaudium magnum — I
bring you good tidings of great joy "(2).
(1) Isaias xii, 3.
(2) Luke ii, 10.
72 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Great joy from His glance which rests upon
them with recognition and satisfaction, from
His mouth which smiles upon them, from
His arms which twine around their
neck, from His lips which tenderly kiss
them, from His Heart which beats against
theirs when He reposes on their bosom.
Such are the effusions of joy that inundate
Mary and Joseph. He is so truly the
image and the sweetness of God that who
ever beholds Him, whether in His Crib or
in the Temple, as did Anna the prophetess,
and the High-Priest Simeon, feels his soul
cheered and dilated ; he is ravished, he
exults with joy: " Benignitas apparuit
Salvatoris nostri Dei — When the goodness
and kindness of God our Saviour ap
peared "(1).
Ah ! it is because He is the personal Love
of God, incarnated by pure love, in order to
perform the work of love. Love presses
Him and gushes from His Heart under
every form. " For God so loved the world
as to give His only-begotten Son — Sic Deus
dilexit mundum ut Filium suwn unigenitum
(1) Tit. Hi, iv.
Fifth Day. 73
daret"(l). And this will of the Father's
love hurries away His own, which yields it
self up to it without reserve. Now, " The
Father sent not His Son into the world to
judge the world, but that the world may be
saved by Him — Non cnim misil Deus F ilium
suum ut judicet mundum, scd ut mundis
salvus fiat per ipsum"(2). Let us, then,
give thanks to God for the unspeakable gift
of this Child who is our Saviour, who lies
before us with all the graces of salvation,
and who gives Himself to us for our ever
lasting gain : " Gratias Deo super inenar-
rabili dono ejus! — Thanks be to God for
His unspeakable gift "(3).
What joy, what peace and pleasure!
What bliss beyond all measure!
I find in Him, my Treasure,
The Bridegroom of my soul!
My Portion! naught shall ever
My heart's affections sever
From Him — And sin? — Ah, never
Shall it my will control!
(1) John iii, 16.
(2) Ibid.
(3) II. Cor. ix, 15.
?4 The EucharisHc Heart of Jesus.
REPARATION.
The wintry blast of this December night,
which chills His members in spite of the
swaddling-bands in which His Mother so
carefully wraps Him, and the warm breath
of the ox and the ass, more compassionate
than the inhabitants of Bethlehem; the
poverty of this abandoned stable to which
the indifference of His fellow-citizens has
relegated Him ; the exile in a hostile coun
try to which He will soon have to submit;
the tears that fall from His innocent eyes at
sight of the painful visions that rise up in
the distance ; the horrible massacre of the
children of Bethlehem and its neighborhood,
which rilled their mothers with inconsolable
sorrow — all this proclaims her Child the
victim announced to Mary by the angel " to
save the world from its sins."
Although He had to wait thirty-three
years before being immolated, before His
sacrifice was exteriorly consummated, yet
from His very birth the Infant-God was
slain and sacrificed in His Heart. The de
cree of Divine Justice was that the salva
tion of guilty man, powerless to redeem
himself, should be at the price of the death
Fifth Day. • 75
of an innocent man. When the will of God
rejected all other sacrifices, the Word of
fered Himself, and He planted in the midst
of His Heart this decree more penetrating
than all the swords of immolation : " Et
legem tuam in incdio Cordis mei — And Thy
law is in the midst of My Heart ! " He de
sires only this will of His Father, and it is
to accomplish it that He has become incar
nate : " Eccc venio ut faciam iuain volun-
tatem — Behold, I come that I should do Thy
will ! " However terrible and bloody it may
be, Jesus already accomplishes it by giving
Himself up to it without a word of contra
diction. " I will not restrain my lips : O
Lord, Thou knowest it!"(l)
But in this fearful will to which, lying
powerless in His Crib, He submits, there are
all the unrecognized rights of God, of His
goodness, His holiness, and His justice.
There are, consequently, all the wrath,
all the vengeance of God. There are all
the sins, all the baseness of man,
all the torments, the ignominy, the
abandonment of the Passion. There are
all the sorrows of His well-beloved Mother
(1) Ps. xxxix, 9.
76 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
and, lastly, for the damned the utter uscr-
lessness of His immense sufferings. Thus
does this Child begin to experience in His
Heart, even in the Crib, the frightful agony
under the crushing weight of which He
sweat blood in the Garden.
Yes, from this moment, although repress
ing the outward manifestation of it, " He
began to grow sorrowful and to be sad —
Cccpit pavere et tczdere, contristare et
mcestus csse" The grotto of Bethlehem is
as inhospitable to Him as that of Geth-
semani ; the Crib in which He is lying in His
helplessness as hard as the wood of the
Cross or the nails that fastened Him to it.
From the first moment of His life on earth,
He felt in His heart only sorrow and oppro
brium : " Improperium exspectavit Cor
meum et miseriam! — My Heart hath ex
pected reproach and misery !"(!)
It is particularly hard to see a child suf
fer. Its innocence and infantine charms
call for joy and happiness without a care.
Shall we not, then, pity the Infant-God
who, later on, in the Sacrament, in which
He continues His Passion as He anticipated
(1) Ps. Ixviii, 27.
Fifth Day. 77
it at Bethlehem, showed to Blessed Mar
garet Mary " His Heart surrounded by a
crown of thorns, a gaping wound in the
centre, and surmounted by a Cross. He re
vealed to her that, from the first moment of
His Incarnation, all His torments had been
present before Him, and it was from that
moment that the Cross had been, as it were,
planted in His Heart. He told her that He
accepted at that moment all the sorrows,
all the humiliations that He was to suffer in
His mortal life, and even the outrages to
which His love for man would expose Him
in the Blessed Sacrament till the end of the
world."
He sobs e'en in His sleeping,
Dear Babe, our coldness weeping;
His mother watch is keeping,
Nor can her grief repress.
Some portion of her sorrow,
Each day and each tomorrow,
From Mary let us borrow,
To comfort His distress.
How could I live without Him?
For heaven is all about Him.
Oh, never shall I doubt Him,
Though life be dark and cold!
7
78 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
But whereso'er He leadeth,
Where famished souls He feedeth,
Where on the Cross He bleedeth,
My station near Him hold.
PETITION.
It seems, indeed, that two graces, above
all, are to be asked from the Heart of the
Infant-God, because they flow directly from
His state of infancy. They are the precious
grain that He produces from the straw on
which He lies: first, personal sanctification,
the grace, the spirit, the virtues of spiritual
infancy; and secondly, the apostolate,
zealous and devoted love for the salvation of
little children.
In imitation of Eternal Wisdom, become
silent and docile in the Babe of Bethlehem,
of Almighty Power and Sovereignty be
come submissive and dependent, of Su
preme Majesty voluntarily abased in ex
treme humility and the poorest of little ones,
the grace of spiritual infancy is found in
simplicity, humility, docility, dependence,
obedience, holy abandonment of mind, heart,
and will. These were the virtues that filled
the Heart of the Infant-God. Where is
He more " meek and humble of heart " than
Fifth Day. 79
in the Crib or in His exile in Egypt? in the
arms of His Mother? or in the labors to
which St. Joseph introduced Him? These
virtues and this spirit are so important that
for those who do not clothe themselves with
them in order to become like little children,
it is impossible to enter the kingdom of
heaven. The Infant-God is the ideal child.
Let us, then, keep His Heart constantly be
fore our eyes, and supplicate Him to render
ours like unto His.
Let us carry away from the contempla
tion of this Child of love the apostolic grace
of devotedness and zeal for the salvation of
little ones. He is full of love for them,
since He embraces their state in order to
render Himself supernaturally, divinely,
lovable to all. He consecrates their weak
ness and innocence by His own, their pov
erty by His own, their dangers by those He
Himself runs, their sufferings by His tears.
It is in this state of infancy, become entirely
like unto them, that He begins to attract
them, that He wishes them to be allowed
to come unto Him. Far from preventing
them, their elders should help them to do so,
should lead them to Him.
Satan and the world, whose murderous
80 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
hatred willed the death of Jesus, and who,
in the person of Herod and his cruel minis
ters, procured the destruction of the chil
dren of Bethlehem, still continue the bloody
persecution of these innocent souls, and,
above all, by godless schools. These chil
dren, adopted by God in Baptism, baptized
in the Blood of Jesus, sanctified by the
presence of the Holy Spirit, pupils of the
Church, and heirs of heaven, are taught by
a godless education to ignore their Saviour.
It teaches them to disown Christ, to despise
the Church, and to have no care for their
eternity. Godless education commits the
great crime, the irremissible crime of
" scandalizing the little ones." It does this
by destroying the first germs of faith which
they inherit from the crib, or even fore
stalling their reception by the apostasy into
which the enemies of salvation entice the
miserable parents. Woe to the world for
all these scandals, but, above all, for scan
dalizing these little ones ! " Qui scandaliza-
verit unum de pusillis istis, expedit ei ut sus-
pendatur mold asinaria in collo ejus et de-
mergatur in profundum maris! — He that
shall scandalize one of these little ones that
believe in Me, it were better for him that a
Fifth Day. 81
mill-stone should be hanged about his neck,
and that he should be drowned in the depth
of the sea!"(l)
For the love of the adorable Eldest
Brother of all little children, let us make in
His Heart the resolution of devoting our
selves to their salvation. Let us do this,
first, by furthering the Eucharistic educa
tion of even the tiniest, that is, by forming
them from earliest infancy to piety toward
the Blessed Sacrament, by speaking to them
of It, by taking them before the Tabernacle,
by teaching them to show It great respect,
and above all, to pray to It with great con
fidence. Later on, let us do all in our power,
both in the family circle and in catechetical
instructions, to contribute to a good prepa
ration for First Communion. Let us spread
the practice of frequent, even daily Com
munion for all children after their First
Communion. Lastly, let us devote our
selves to the propagation of Christian
schools making pecuniary sacrifices for their
foundation and support.
On Christmas day, 1685, Our Lord ap
peared to Blessed Margaret Mary. He
(1) Matt, xviii, 6.
82 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
showed her the pupils of the Visitation and
her own young novices, grouped around her
like little lambs, and as once to St. Peter, He
said to her : " Feed My Lambs ! "—The
Sacred Heart repeats to each of us:
" Lovest thou Me ? — Feed my lambs ! "
To please the Heart of the Infant-God,
let us love and serve His little ones !
He begs us with Him suffer,
For sinner and for scoffer,
With mind and heart to offer
Some generous sacrifice;
That with contrition rending
Our own soul for offending,
With justice, mercy blending,
May lead to Paradise.
Say the prayer to Our Lady of the Most
Blessed Sacrament for the increase of daily
Communion among the Faithful.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have pity on
us!
(300 days' Indulgence.}
Stitb
HEART OF JESUS, SON OF MARY.
SUBJECT. — We are about to adore the
Heart of Jesus in Its relations with the
Most Blessed Virgin. These relations are,
first, those of the most perfect of sons with
the most perfect of mothers ; secondly,
those founded on nature or filial love ;
thirdly, those springing from services or
benefits rendered; fourthly, those arising
from sufferings borne together ; and fifthly,
and lastly, those dependent upon mutual co
operation in the work of the world's salva
tion. They are, on the other side, first, the
relations of the most loving of mothers with
the most beloved of sons; relations of
unparalleled love, expressed by the most
worthy homage of adoration, thanks
giving, compassion, and prayer, offered
without faltering by the Mother, and
which filled the Heart of the Son with satis
faction and delight. All these relations are
expressed in this grand invocation of the
Litany of the Sacrecl Heart, short in words,
83
81 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
but in meaning infinite: "Cor Jesu, Filii
Virginis Matris!— Heart of Jesus, Son of a
Virgin Mother ! "
ADORATION.
" Cor Jesu, Filii Virginis Matris, miserere
nobis!" Let us adore the Heart of the
little Infant beating against the heart of
His Mother, while she presses Him with
joy in her tender and sheltering arms. This
Infant is the true, the own Son of this
Mother, formed of her blood and strength
ened by her substance, born of her womb
and nourished by her milk. After the
Divine Sonship, which He received from
His Father in eternity, nothing is truer,
greater, more necessary to God and to the
world, nor dearer to Jesus Himself than the
human Sonship that He received in time
from His Mother.
Thence spring the sacred and august re
lations which forever bind the Heart of this
unique Son to this unique Mother. First,
they are the bonds of nature: the bond of
origin, which attaches the child to the
mother as to the cause of its existence; the
bond of blood which, flowing from the
heart of the mother into that of the child,
Sixth Day. 85
creates between them a kind of identity;
and the bond of life preserved and in
creased by the nourishment received from
the maternal bosom. Secondly, there are
the moral bonds of the natural law which
obliges the child to dependence upon and
obedience to her who holds from the Cre
ator the care of directing its infancy ; which
obliges it by gratitude toward her who,
having given it life by exposing her own,
surrounds it at every instant by her devoted
care and solicitude. Lastly, the bonds of
choice, of affection, of love, which attach
the child to its mother by the qualities and
virtues that it discovers in her, by their life
in common, their mutual joys and sorrows,
in which their hearts are dissolved in one
same affection, which, by ennobling,
strengthens all the other ties.
The Heart of the Infant God so much
the more perfectly embraced all these sacred
obligations toward His Mother, as it was to
Mary alone, the unique principle of His
human life, that He owed all that He had
received. He loved those bonds so much the
more ardently as Mary possessed in the
highest degree all the qualities of mother
hood, and fulfilled its duties without falter-
8
86 The En char istic Heart of Jesus.
ing. It was with all the strength, all the
tenderness and delight of His Heart that
He loved His Mother, gave Himself to her,
obeyed and served her. With the same af
fections He still continues, and He will for
ever continue to serve her even in His
glory, looking upon Himself as forever
bound to her by the most profound filial
piety.
But at the moment that, formed of the
blood of His Mother, the Heart of Jesus
began to be attached to her by this power
ful love, the Heart of Mary, undergoing the
natural law which was energized in her by
the loving force of the Holy Spirit who ef
fected her divine maternity, turned ardently
to the living Fruit of her womb, gave her
self up unreservedly to Him, attached her
self to Him forever, and proclaimed that she
was willing to become His Mother only
that she might more perfectly be His ser
vant: " Ecce ancilla Domini! — Behold the
handmaid of the Lord ! " From that mo
ment she began to give Him, along with her
maternal care, all the services of super
natural love, of religion, of adoration in
spirit and in truth, of perfect praise, unre
served sacrifice, and perpetual immolation.
Sixth Day. 37
What her Well-Beloved was to her, she was
to her Well-Beloved. They were insepa
rably united in the same love. It made them
live one in the other, and joined them in
one single Heart, the Heart of Jesus and
Mary : " Dilectus metis mihif et ego illi —
My beloved to me and I to Him."
Let us, then, adore the filial piety which
ceased not to dwell in the Heart of Jesus
for His Mother by appropriating to our
selves all the love, all the devotedness of
Mary for Jesus. This divine Mother de
sires that the Heart of her Son should be
honored and loved. She declared it
authoritatively in one of the revelations of
the Sacred Heart. Blessed Margaret Mary
says : " The sweet Heart of Jesus having
appeared to me on a throne of flames, Its
Wound radiating beams of light and heat,
the Most Blessed Virgin, who was standing
beside the adorable Heart, invited me in
motherly words to approach. ' Come,' she
said, ' draw near. I am going to make you
the depository of the great Treasure which
the divine Sun of Justice formed in the vir
ginal earth of my heart, where It was
hidden for nine months before being mani
fested to men. Behold this Divine Treas-
88 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
ure whose tender love longs to enrich you by
bestowing Itself upon you ! '
" Cor Jesu, Filii Virginis Matris, miserere
nobis!"
THANKSGIVING.
" Cor Jesu, Filii Virginis Matris, miserere
nobis!" The generous love of the Sacred
Heart in creating Mary immaculate and en
riching her with all graces, in order to
sanctify her and render her worthy to be
come His Mother, forms a new bond be
tween the Sacred Heart and her. This
unique love of the Incarnation by which He
gives Himself to her as her Son is for her
the plenitude of grace. Behold the infinite
tenderness of His love for Mary!
This Blessed Mother, having given to
Him human life that He might consecrate it
to the service of His Father, the Blood with
which He was to redeem the world, the
faithful co-operation of prayer and devoted-
ness in His work here on earth, the conso
lation of her sympathy in His sufferings,
and her heroic participation in the pains of
His death, a new source of love was opened
in His Heart, and it constantly surged and
flowed in glad waves toward the Heart of
Sixth Day. 89
Mary. It was the love of gratitude, that
virtue so pleasing to Jesus. He rejoiced
in it, gloried in it. He returned to Mary
a hundredfold of happiness, glory, power in
heaven and on earth for all that He had re
ceived from her. Hence, the perpetual ef
fusion of His most magnificent gifts, bless
ings, thanksgivings, and praise: " Ave,
Maria, benedict a tu in mulieribus!" Thou
hast opened in my Heart an incurab1e
wound of love, O My well-beloved ! " Vul-
nerasti cor meum, soror mca sponsa! —
Thou hast wounded My Heart, My sister,
My spouse I "(I) " Come, come that I may
crown thee in a triumph eternally renewed !
— Veni coronaberis, veni!"
These flames of her Son's love enkindle
in the Heart of Mary a sense of gratitude
which becomes almost a torture, for if she
herself has given anything, it was of the
fruits that she had received, and what she
has received will always be infinitely more
than she has given. She fully understands
the abundance, the price of the divine bene
fits. In her most pure gratitude she retains
nothing for herself and, being incapable of
(1) Cant, iv, 9.
90 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
egoism, her soul melts into thanksgiving.
She is transformed into the living expres
sion of praise, and she eternally chants to
the Heart of her Son her canticle of grati
tude: "Magnificat anima mea Dominum,
et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari
meo ! — My soul doth magnify the Lord, and
my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my
Saviour ! "
It is only by uniting our thanksgivings
to those of Mary, in order to purify them,
to enliven them with love, that our duties
of thanksgiving, and they are innumerable,
infinite, since we have been infinitely loved,
will be pleasing to Jesus. There is only
one voice that charms and captivates His
Heart : " Sonet vox tua in auribus meis,
vox eiiim tna dnlcis — Let thy voice sound in
my ears, for thy voice is sweet "(1). There
is only one voice that He still desires to
hear, and that is the voice of His Mother:
" Qua habitas in hortis, amid anscultant;
fac me audire vocem tuam! — Thou that
dwellest in the gardens, the friends hearken.
Make me hear thy voice! "(2) That
(1) Cant, ii, 14.
(2) Cant, viii, 13.
Sixth Day. 91
voice of Mary, did we know how to make 1't
sound upon our lips, will open to us the
Heart of her Son, causing inexhaustible tor
rents of grace to fall upon the earth.
" Once," says Blessed Margaret Mary,
" my Mother made me see the Sacred Heart
of Jesus as a source of living water, whence
it flowed gently by five canals. . . ."
Again, she says, " This Queen of goodness,
speaking to the daughters of the Visitation.,
said : ' Not only should they enrich them
selves from this inexhaustible Treasure, but
still more should they distribute Its precious
coin as far as they are able. Let them give
largely. Let them enrich the whole world
with It, fearing not that It will ever fail,
for the more they will draw from It, the
more It will have to give ! '
REPARATION.
" Cor Jem, Filii Virginis Matris, miserere
nobis!" Nothing more closely unites two
beings than sorrow, whether one endures it
for the love and service of the other or,
struck by the same blow, they help each
other to bear the burden together. Their
common grief is a millstone that grinds both
hearts, their tears make an indestructible
93 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
cement of the dust, and the wounds that are
dug into their hearts, afford a retreat into
which they flee, there to remain forever
strictly united to each other. Thus it was
with the common martyrdom of Jesus and
Mary. It created between them new ties
while rendering all others more intimate.
By virtue of the requirements of Divine
Justice which demanded this supreme ex
piation, this Son, who would have wished to
shield from all sorrow His faultless Mother,
by her very innocence exempt from the law
of suffering,— this Son so loving and so
tender, must draw His Mother into the
tempest of His Passion and deliver her to
its fury by which He Himself was to be
bruised and broken. She suffered only
from His sufferings. He alone was her
executioner and her martyrdom. He con
stituted all her pain, which was as great,
immense, infinite as Himself! Mary, on
her side, loved Jesus so much that, in spite
of the martyrdom which she was to endure,
she willed to follow Him in order to share
His pains and opprobrium, to endure in her
compassion the punishment of His Pas
sion, to mingle her tears with His Blood
and, by that faithful co-operation, to help
Sixth Day. 93
Him, to support Him, to relieve and in
demnify Him as much as in her lay.
In this mutual combat, in which are
united so much love and so much sorrow,
Jesus attaches Himself to Mary by the
sweetest ties of infinite tenderness, infinite
pity, infinite compassion. To testify to her
the feelings that pass all expression, He al
lows His Heart to be opened under her
eyes. As she is standing nearer the Cross
than all others, she receives in greater
abundance the waves of Blood and grace
that issue from It. She was the first to
enter by her longing gaze, by her sorrow
and love into that retreat to which Jesus at
tracted her, commanding her to abide there
in forever, to exercise her sublime and ma
ternal functions of consoler of her only
Son and of reparatrix for all her other chil
dren.
From that moment Mary's ministry of
reparation near the Sacred Heart was
crowned with success, for it was to her in
tercession that the Good Thief owed his
pardon ; the centurion, the soldiers, and the
crowds that were converted, the contrition
and faith which made them strike their
94 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
breast, saying, " Indeed, this was the Son of
God!"
Mary continues her intercession all
through the ages, as we learn from the fol
lowing vision of Blessed Margaret Mary :
" One day, on the feast of the Visitation,
I was before the Most Blessed Sacrament,
asking of God some special grace for our
Institute. But I found the Divine Good
ness inflexible to my prayer. He addressed
to me the words : ' Say no more to Me
about it. They turn a deaf ear to My
Voice ; they are destroying the foundation
of the edifice ! ' — But the Most Blessed
Virgin, assuming our interests with her
Divine Son, now so irritated, prostrated be
fore Him, saying to Him these tender
words: 'Exercise upon me Thy just
wrath. These are the daughters of my
heart. I shall be to them a shield to receive
the blows which Thou wilt deal out to them.'
— Then the Divine Saviour, assuming a
sweet and gentle expression, said to her:
' My Mother, it is for thee to distribute My
grace as seems good to thee. I am ready
for love of thee to endure the abuse that
they make of it. ... If their interests
are dearer to thee than Mine, thou canst
Sixth Day. 95
arrest the course of My justice. ' But the
Queen of goodness and of love more than
maternal, replied : ' I ask for delay only
till the feast of the Presentation. Until that
time I shall spare neither care nor trouble to
render Thy graces victorious and to frus
trate the efforts of Satan, by snatching from
him the prey that he looks upon as already
his own ' — Some time after, the Blessed
Virgin presented herself to my soul. She
appeared quite worn out with fatigue. She
had in her holy hands some hearts that were
covered with wounds. ' See/ she said,
' what I have snatched from the hands of
the enemy, who was having his sport with
them. But what most afflicts my maternal
heart is that some take his part against me.
They despise the help that I offer them/ '
It is for us to render fruitful by our
prayer, contrition, and penance, united to
her sorrow and tears, Mary's reparation to
the Sacred Heart for our sins and those of
the whole world. Let us confidently present
them to Jesus, repeating to Him without
wearying : " Remember with all Thy
Heart, O Thou best of sons, the agony and
the groanings of Thy Mother and, by that
remembrance, have pity on us: In toto
96 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Corde tuo gemitus matris tuae ne oblivis-
caris!" (1)
PETITION.
" Cor Jesu, Filii Virginis Matris, miserere
nobis!" To all the other relations that
bind the Heart of Jesus to that of Mary, we
must add those of justice; for God Himself
has laid it down as a law that whoever has
faithfully accomplished here below what
was intrusted to him, shall receive in
heaven as a recompense jurisdiction over
great things: " Euge, serve bone, quia
super paitca fuisti fidelis, super mult a te
constituam — Well done, good and faithful
servant; because thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will place thee over
many things " (2).
Now, Mary wisely, faithfully, and suc
cessfully administered all the graces she
had received. She valiantly co-operated in
the grand work of the Incarnation and the
Redemption. She was a Mother as coura
geous in delivering her Son for the world
on Calvary as she was faithful in giving
Him to the world at Bethlehem. It is due
(1) Eccli. vii, 29.
(2) Matt, xxv, 21.
Sixth Day. 97
to her that Jesus was able to fulfil the will
of His Father, redeem mankind, and re
gain for Him the eternal empire which He
now possesses in His glory. These works
were infinite and worthy of infinite reward.
Jesus must, then, recompense His
Mother with glory, power, and royalty.
Having placed her at His right, crowned
Queen of heaven and earth, His Heart
tastes ineffable satisfaction in putting at her
disposal all the treasures of Redemption,
all the created forces of the world of nature,
grace, and glory, so that nothing is done
without her, nothing bestowed but througfi
her, nothing, whether of expiation, prayer
or praise, accepted but by her mediation.
Jesus has constituted her the universal
mediatrix between mankind and Himself,
the constant co-operatrix in His govern
ment, the sovereign dispensatrix of all His
treasures.
f( Deus totius boni plenitudinem posuit in
Maria: ut proinde si quid spei in nobis est,
si quid gratia, si quid salutis, ab ea no-
verimus redundare qua ascendit deliciis af-
fluens, innixa super Dilectum suum. — God
has placed in Mary's hands the fulness of
all good, so that we can have no hope of
98 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
grace and salvation, but through her who,
taken up into heaven and there inundated
with the delights of the blessed, rests on the
Heart of her well-beloved Son"(l).
It is, then, our duty as well as our in
terest to pray by the name of Mary, to trust
in the merits of Mary, to cover ourselves
with the sanctity of Mary, to bear as far
as in us lies a resemblance to Mary, if we
would touch the Heart of Jesus and become
pleasing to Him. She is the Queen and the
Sovereign of His Heart, because she is His
unique love, He having loved her, as He still
loves her, more than all other creatures to
gether of whom He loves not one but on ac
count of His Mother. This is what the
glorious title, " Our Lady of the Sacred
Heart," proclaims. With this title the
Church has crowned her. She, like a mis
tress, disposes of that Sacred Heart as is
pleasing to her. She inclines It to what she
desires, gives It to whom she wills. Jesus
finds exquisite and infinite delight in being
thus delivered into the hands of His
Mother! All that she asks of Him, her
Son owes her, since she it was who fur-
(1) St. Bernard, Sermo in Nativitate B. M. V.
Sixth Day. 99
nished Him with the means of acquiring it
by giving Him her blood. God Himself is
her debtor : " Euge, euge, qua debitorem
habes F ilium tuum, qui omnibus mutuatur ;
Deo enim universi deb emus, tibi autem
etiam ille debitor est !" ( 1 )
Mary one day said to Blessed Margaret
Mary : " I wish to enrich all men with the
precious gold which has become under the
blows of the Passion inappreciable currency,
marked with the coin of the Divinity, in
order that they may be able to pay their
debts and negotiate the great affair of their
eternal salvation." This salvation is what
she operates in her children. They, also,
form her glorious and immortal crown, as
the confidante of the Sacred Heart, that
most privileged child of the Blessed Virgin,
tells us : " I received," she says, " great
marks of the protection of the Blessed Vir
gin on the day of her triumphal Assumption.
She showed me a crown which she had
made of all the daughters in her suite, and
she gave me to understand that she wished
to appear with that ornament before the
Most Holv Trinity."
(1) St. Methodius Const., Sermo de B. Virg.
100 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
" Cor Jesu, Filii Virginis Matris, miserere
nobis!"
Make frequent ejaculations during the
day to Our Lord in the Tabernacle.
Jesus, my God, I love Thee above all
things.
(50 days' Indulgence.)
Scvcntb
THE SACRED HEART IN THE GIFT OF THE
EUCHARIST.
THE Sovereign Pontiffs who instituted
the Feast of the Sacred Heart declare that
the motive for this worship is to recognize
and honor under the symbol of the human
Heart of Jesus Christ, His love for man
kind, shown above all in His Passion and
in the institution of the Eucharist. It is to
this second manifestation of His love that
we render homage in the following adora
tion.
Nowhere has the Sacred Heart stamped
an impression more profound, more visible
than in this institution, since the Eucharist
is the most magnificent gift, the highest ef
fort of Its power, the masterpiece that ex
hibits His love as never before. His two
fold nature, divine and human, appears
therein in the marvels and the goodness
that He scatters abroad without measure.
The double phase of His existence, the
mortal here below, the glorified in heaven,
101
102 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
are revealed therein in the throes of sor
row and in the sovereign mediation which
He began by the oblation of the Eternal
Sacrifice upon the altar of the Cenacle.
It is, then, the Heart of the God made
man, revealing Itself at the Last Supper as
the Institutor of the Eucharist, that we are
going to acknowledge and adore : " Cum
dilexisset suos qui erant in mundo, in finem
dilexit eos — Having loved His own who
were in the world, He loved them to the
end."
ADORATION.
The Heart of the Son of God, carrying
in It the eternal love which is the very
nature of God, possessing almighty power
to show forth that infinite love in works
worthy of Him — the Sacred Heart, which
labored for thirty-three years to prove Its
love for the world by innumerable benefits
of prayer, devotedness, teaching, goodness,
and mercy, having loved His ozvn, wishes,
at the end of Its mortal life, to sum up all
Its gifts in one which surpasses them all, in
a masterpiece which crowns all others, and
so instituted the Eucharist: "In finem
it — He loved them to the end,"
Seventh Day. 103
The Gospel tells us : " Scicns quia omnia
dedit ei Pater in manus ei qida a Deo exivit
et ad Deuni vadit — Knowing that the
Father had given all things into His hands,
and that He came from God and goeth to
God," that is to say, that He is as truly
God as His Father, Jesus recalls this truth
to His disciples. Under the influence of
this remembrance, wishing to love in God,
He loves even to the end, that is to say, in
finitely, without other measure than that of
these two terms which have no measure :
the divinity of His origin and the divinity
of His end. In finem dilexit. And as the
works and gifts of love must be propor
tioned to its power and extent, the gift, the
work springing from this appeal to His
Divinity, is a marvel of infinite beauty, of
infinite goodness, of infinite extent : In
finem dilexit!
It is a marvel of the two natures, the
divine and the human, integral and living,
which constitute the Man-God, glorified,
confined in the narrow limits of what ap
pears to be a morsel of bread ! It is the
most marvellous of all the great love, of
all the great benefits of God and of His
Christ, creation, the Incarnation, Redemp-
104 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
tion, grace, and glory, all concentrated,
summed up in this one proof, this still
greater proof of love, the gift of the Eucha
rist ! It is the marvel of the actual abiding
on earth of the Son of God made man, after
He had re-ascended to heaven, the sojourn
due His dignity! It is the marvel of an
unbloody immolation, wrought upon Him
self and by Himself, although through the
agency of a visible minister, and renewing
in all its efficacy the sacrifice of His death,
giving to God the same satisfaction and ob
taining for man the same redemption! It
is the marvel of a little bread that has lost
its natural substance by changing it, at the
breathing of a sacerdotal word, into that
of Jesus Christ ! Under its frail envelope
it contains Jesus Christ in His whole being.
It feeds the human soul with Him, pouring
into it the perfections of His Divinity, the
virtues of His Soul, the living properties of
His Flesh and Blood, the merits of His
sacred life, His heroic death, and the vic
torious spoils of His Resurrection. It is
the marvel of time conquered by this fragile
Host, which sways all ages, giving strength
and duration to all that lean upon It, like
the Church which, persecuted by enemies
Seventh Day. 105
without, weakened by the corruption of her
children within, still exists while the most
solid empires crumble! It is the marvel of
distance cleared, oceans filled up, mountains
crossed by this bond of the Host, wholly
present everywhere, forming the connecting
link between souls and creeds and morals,
among nations the most diverse, in one
same adoration, in one same eating of the
Bread of Life ! And the wonder of this
Bread, so precious that a single one of its
atoms is of more value than the whob
world, that it multiplies with superb magni
ficence, is renewed with inexhaustible fecun
dity, is ofYered daily to all: Quantum isti,
tantum ille, nee sumptus consumitur!
All these marvels of love — for being
gratuitous, they can come only from Him
— proclaim that the Heart that inspires
them, that operates them, is the Heart of a
God, who brings His almighty power into
play.
What do all these marvels call for from
us? That in admiration, astonishment,
amazement, but also in firm faith, we adore
from the depths of our soul the Gift, the
Marvel of the Divine Heart, the Most
Blessed Sacrament ! It was this Gift that
106 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the Divine Saviour had in view when, cast
ing aside the Sacramental veils in order to
reveal His Heart, which had given It at
the Last Supper, and which gives It still
upon our altars, He said to Blessed Mar
garet Mary : " Behold the Heart that has
so loved men that It has spared nothing
even to exhausting and consuming: Itself in
order to testify to them Its love ! "
THANKSGIVING.
Truly the Heart of a man, formed to ex
press in a human manner the love, the good
ness, and the mercy of God, thus to gain
the human heart, which responds only to
sympathy and yields only to kindness, the
Sacred Heart reveals Itself in the institu
tion of the Eucharist by the tenderness, the
intimacy, the familiarity of the most sincere
friendship that can be imagined between
equals and brethren.
" Knowing," says the Gospel, " that His
hour was come to go from this world to the
Father," and that He must, consequentlv,
be separated from His " own whom He
loved so much," the Saviour felt His Heart
oppressed, with sadness and compassion for
them. So, He resolved to " love them to
Seventh Day. 107
the end," that is, to remain with them under
the form of the Sacrament while ascending
to heaven in His human form. It is the
sincerity of His human Heart which ex
presses itself by this attachment " for His
own," from whom He cannot depart with
out feeling It torn and breaking. His
" own! " Who were they? They were those
bound to Him by the ties of blood, by the
affection that He had shown them, by that
which He had received from them, by the
call followed, by the common labors under
taken, the hatred braved, the sufferings en-
aured., His " own " are they who, aban
doning father and mother, house and busi
ness, have given themselves to Him, and
who depend wholly on Him.
While suffering in His Heart at being
obliged to leave those loved ones, the sight
of their grief and the tears that filled their
eyes roused His tender compassion and the
desire to console them. " Because I have
told ye that I am going away, sorrow hath
filled your heart. No! I am going away,
but I will return to you ! " Lastly, the
thought of what they would have to suffer
from the world and its prince, made Him
resolve to sustain and defend them : " No !
108 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
I will not leave you orphans. I will remain
with you all days even to the end of the
world ! "
Under the pressure of all these sentiments,
He made Himself the kind, the affectionate,
the familiar Sacrament, in which appear all
the tenderness, all the condescension of the
most human of all hearts. It is a Sacra
ment which is taken at a banquet of friends ;
which gives Itself under the well-known
form of bread broken, of a cup drunk at a
hospitable table; which, concealing the
human form of Him whom It contains, ren
ders access to Him more easy, His frequent
reception more unconstrained. It is a
Sacrament which, descending into the breast
of man to mingle with his substance, proves
to him to what intimate union Jesus aspires,
and that He aims at being associated with
his labors, his trials, his joys, his whole life
in this valley of tears. Ah, how truly
human is the Heart of the Son of God, who
came into this world to live with men and to
gain them by the charms of His Humanity !
He longs to abide forever " with His own,
who must still remain in this world."
Jesus betrayed His inmost Heart when
He ended the bestowal of Himself with
Seventh Day. 109
these words: f( In memoriam facite. — Do
this in remembrance of Me ! " Remember
Me! What an appeal, what a request,
what a command to love Him are contained
in these two words ! In them we have the
proof that He loves us with a truly human
love based on reciprocity, that He cannot
bear to be forgotten, He cannot bear not to
be loved by us: In met memoriam!
Ah, let us, then, remember Him with
faithful and loving friendship, for which He
is hungering and thirsting ! " One day,
Good Friday/' says Blessed Margaret Mary,
" having a great desire to receive Our Lord,
I said to Him with many tears : ' Sweet
Jesus, I would wish to be consumed by de
sire for Thee ! Not being able to possess
Thee today, I shall not cease to desire Thee/
He came to console me with His dear Pres
ence, and said to me : ' My daughter, thy
desire has so touched My Heart that, if T
had not already instituted this Sacrament of
Love, I would do so now in order to give
Myself to thee as nourishment. I take so
much pleasure in being desired that, as often
as a heart forms that desire, so often do I
look upon it lovingly to draw it to My
self!'"
9
110 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
REPARATION.
The Saviour had prophesied that the lot
of His Heart on earth would be " re
proach and misery : " Improperium exspec-
tavit Cor meum et miseriam (1). And, in
fact, from the first moment of Its being,
when It accepted the responsibility of the
sins of men, even to Its last pulsation on the
Cross, It was never without the weight of
all the sorrows, all the humiliations that they
had merited.
His sorrowful life here below was re
produced in the institution of the Eucha
rist, and that the more notably as He in
tended this Sacrament to be the memorial
of all His sufferings and of His death. The
anguish, the opposition endured, the repug
nance surmounted, the heroic resignation to
support everything, were very clearly fore
seen at the Last Supper. By them we can
trace the cruel martyrdom confronted by
the Sacred Heart in order to bestow upon
us the best of His gifts.
The instrument of that martyrdom is per
sonified in Judas whose heart, possessed by
Satan, filled by him with implacable hatred
(1) Ps. Ixviii, 21.
Seventh Day. Ill
for Jesus, resolved to betray Him in the
Cenacle by a sacrilegious Communion, and
in the Garden by the kiss which was to
point Him out to the executioners : " Cum
diabolus jam misisset in cor ut traderet eum
Judas — The devil having now put it into
the heart of Judas to betray Him "(1)- The
struggle of Jesus' Heart full of love against
that of Judas full of hate, constituted the
Eucharistic Agony of the Sacred Heart.
Jesus still loved the disciple chosen by Him
like the others, whom He had associated to
His mission, to whom He had confided His
secrets, and upon whom He had conferred
the power of working miracles, and He
longed to rescue him from his murderous
design. To soften his heart, He lovingly
washed and kissed his feet. But all in vain,
and He signifies it to him in the ambiguous
words : " Ye are pure, but not all" Alas !
While Judas was taking his portion of
the Paschal lamb from the hands of Jesus,
the Saviour, in order to relieve His own
Heart and to remind the traitor, exclaimed
in a loud voice : " Amen, I say to you, that
one of you is about to betray Me. He that
(1) John xiii, 2.
112 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, he
shall betray Me ! "
He had consecrated the Eucharist, say
ing: "Take ye and eat. Take ye, and
drink," and Judas had extended his hand to
receive his share of the Divine Bread, and
his lips are immersed in the Chalice whence
the lips of Jesus had drunk. Then Jesus
says in a voice grave and full of emotion:
" He that dippeth his hand with Me in the
dish, he shall betray Me. It were better for
him if that man had never been born ! "
While the Apostles, agitated and frightened,
eagerly declared their fidelity, Judas affected
to do the same ; and the Saviour, indignant
at his hypocrisy, uttered this cry of sorrow :
" The Scripture sayeth : and it must be ful
filled: He that eateth bread with Me shall
raise up his heel against Me ! "
Jesus felt that odious and persistent
treason so keenly that, by the allusion which
He made to it, He opened a vent for the
agony He endured in His Heart. Not being
able to contain it, He showed Himself
troubled, and He protested against its vio
lence and against him who caused it: Cum
haec dixisset Jesus, turbatus est spiritu ct
Seventh Day. 113
protestatus est(l). The grief at being thus
profaned and betrayed, indignation against
the blackness of the crime, persistent pity for
the traitor rushing blindly to his own de
struction, stirred His very soul, made His
Heart shudder: Turbatus est spiritu — He
was troubled in spirit, and brought to His
lips the burning and bitter words of protest :
" Et protestatus est."
Then Jesus became resigned, for His love
would not allow the crime of Judas to be an
obstacle to His giving the Eucharist to the
world: ff Quod fads, fac citiiis! — That
which thou dost, do quickly ! " And yet He
saw behind Judas all the traitors that would,
under the guise of hypocritical piety, ap
proach to receive Him at the Banquet of
Holy Communion, to profane Him, and to
deliver Him to the demon.
To be betrayed at the very moment in
which one loves most, is sorrow supreme,
mortal agony for the human heart! And
as, at the Last Supper, Jesus called upon the
co-disciples of Judas to repair by their
fidelity and compassion, so does He now de
mand reparation and consolation from faith
ful souls.
(1) John xiii, 21.
114 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
He said to Blessed Margaret Mary:
" And in return I receive for the most part
only ingratitude, expressed by the contempt,
irreverence, sacrilege, and coldness that they
have for Me in this Sacrament of Love!
But what is more hurtful to Me is that there
are hearts consecrated to Me who treat Me
thus. I feel that more keenly than all I en
dured in My Passion! Do thou, at least,
give Me the consolation of seeing thee sup
plying as much as thou canst for their in
gratitude ! "
PETITION.
If the first phase of the existence of the
Sacred Heart is consumed in suffering, the
second, a just recompense of the former, is
passed in immortality, power, and glory.
The Heart of the Eternal Priest, who has
ascended even to the throne of God to plead
uninterruptedly in our behalf, and who at the
Last Supper inaugurated His priesthood,
His love, and ever watchful solicitude for
us, must exhibit itself in a powerful, ardent,
and devoted prayer. That prayer, begun in
the august sanctuary of the Cenacle, is con
tinued and it will be continued on all the
altars of the world until the end of time.
Seventh Day. 115
It is for this reason that the institution of
the Sacrament is also the institution of the
Sacrifice, the prayer par excellence, in which
Christ prays not only by His desires and
His words, but by His Flesh delivered up
and His Blood poured out. Yes, He pays
for what He demands by the price of His
innocent life.
Asking for us from the Father the de
struction of sin, pardon, reconciliation, resti
tution of former rights, He said, raising to
heaven His Flesh and His Blood under the
species of bread and wine : " Behold My
Body broken for you! Behold My Blood
shed for the remission of your sins ! "
The Adorable High-Priest, in order to
give them efBcacy, supported all the prayers
that would be made by men throughout the
ages upon this fundamental prayer of His
Eucharistic Sacrifice. It anticipated at the
Last Supper and it was to reproduce at the
altar that which on the next day He was to
offer on the Cross. Jesus solicited our
prayer and roused our confidence by saying :
" Amen, Amen, I say to you : if you ask the
Father anything in My name, He will give
it to you. Hitherto you have not asked any
thing in My name. Ask, and you shall re-
116 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
ceive, that your joy may be full." Again,
He said : " Whatsoever you shall ask the
Father in My name, that will I do : that the
Father may be glorified in the Son. If you
shall ask Me anything in My name, that I
will do that your joy may be full. If you
abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you shall ask whatsoever you will and it
shall be done unto you " (1).
Behold the Heart of the all-powerful, the
all-merciful Priest! He is all-powerful by
His sacrifice in which He has spared noth
ing to satisfy His Father. He is all-power
ful by His purity, His love, His persever
ance. He is all-merciful, because being
laden with our debts, He learned by experi
ence the excess of our evils and the extent
of our needs.
Jesus asks us to pray with Him, by Him,
in Him, with confidence, humility, persever
ance, since every prayer that issues from a
sincere heart is secure of finding in His in
finitely good Heart access and success.
" My Heart is so passionately in love with
men," He said to Blessed Margaret Mary,
" that It can no longer contain within Itself
(1) John xv.
Seventh Day. 117
the flames of Its ardent charity. It must
pour them out by means of thee, and mani
fest Itself to them to enrich them with Its
treasures, which contain all the graces of
which they have need to be saved from per
dition." And at another time, He said : " I
constitute thee the heiress of My Heart and
of all Its treasures. I promise that assist
ance shall never be wanting to thee till
power is wanting to Me ! "
Pray for greater reverence toward the
Holy Eucharist.
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament
divine !
All praise and all thanksgiving be every mo
ment Thine !
(100 days' Indulgence.)
10
THE SACRED HEART IN THE PASSION.
WHEN Our Lord allowed the centurion's
lance to pierce His Heart, and to end by
that solemn and unexpected blow the in
numerable outrages of His Passion, He de
sired to prove what an immense role that
Heart had played in it. That Wound was
never effaced from His Sacred Person. It
remains open even in His glorified flesh, like
a master's seal on his work. It proclaims
that it was the Sacred Heart which con
ceived, willed, and suffered the Passion. Re
vealing It to Blessed Margaret Mary, with
Its most striking wounds, encircled by a
crown of thorns, pierced through and
through by a cross, the Saviour said to her :
" These instruments of My Passion signify
that the immense love of My Heart for man
kind has been the source of all its suffer
ings." The Church, when approving the
worship of the Sacred Heart, declared that
its object is to honor His love, above all, in
His Passion and in the Eucharist. There is
118
Eighth Day. 119
no question of the pains directly endured
by the Sacred Heart, but only of the part It
took in the drama of the Passion from the
Cenacle to Calvary.
ADORATION.
The role played by the Sacred Heart in
the Passion is of primary importance. It
was the responsible inspirer of that Passion.
It endured the greater part of the pains that
make it up. It was fitting that it should
be so, for this double role belonged to It of
necessity.
Nothing could oblige the Word to become
incarnate and to die for guilty man. It was
love alone that led Him to do so, spontane
ous love, a love full of divine generosity and
infinite power. This was the love that
burned in the Heart of Jesus from Its first
formation.
Yielding to the ardor of that love, pressed
on by its irresistible impulse, the Saviour
delivered Himself as a sacrifice for us:
" Christus dilexit nos et tradidit semetipsum
pro nobis oblationem et hostiam Deo in
odorem suavitatis — Christ hath loved us, and
hath delivered Himself for us, an oblation
120 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweet
ness "(1).
No work nor prayer nor suffering of
guilty man being capable of giving satis
faction to Divine Justice and restoring the
kingdom of God in creation, Jesus, so lov
ing His Father that He feared not to con
front death for His honor, said on leaving
the Cenacle : " That the world may know
that I love the Father, let us go to Calvary :
Ut cognoscat niundus quiet diligo Patrem,
eamus hinc" (2). To love, then, and con
sequently to the Heart all loving, belongs
the sublime, the heroic design of the Pas
sion.
Upon that strong and magnanimous
Heart fell the greater part of the sufferings
and humiliations of the Passion. Yes, we
may say that directly or indirectly the Heart
of Jesus supported the whole weight of that
dolorous Passion.
Directly, It endured all the anguish that
has the heart, the affections for its seat:
treason, denial, the abandonment of His
own. In the Garden, It endured the terror,
(1) Ephes. iv, 2.
(2) John xiv, 31.
Eighth Day. 121
the agony, the bitterness and disgust, the
weariness and mortal sadness of the Agony,
all those pains with which Jesus said His
Heart was filled : " Repleta est malls anima
mea — For My soul is filled with evils " (1).
Ah ! it was those evils overflowing that pro
duced the exhaustion, the tears, the groans,
the bloody sweat under which He suc
cumbed and fell prostrate on the earth.
Again, upon the Cross, it was the Sacred
Heart that directly agonized at the sight of
Mary and her grief, and at the abandonment
of His so-loved Father who, though long in
voked, responded only by a disheartening
and grievous silence.
Indirectly, the Heart of Jesus suffered all
the torments of the Passion both moral and
physical. There was not a single one of the
outrages, humiliations, denials of justice,
buffets, pricks of the thorns, blows of the
whip, wounds of all His members, effusions
of blood, so abundant, so painful, so ig
nominious, which had not its rebound upon
that Heart, the furnace of life, the source of
life-blood, and the organ of sensibility. And
it had to be so. The root of sin and its es-
(l) Ps. Ixxxvii, 4.
122 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
sential malice being in the perversion of
the ungrateful heart, which turns away from
God to attach itself by disorderly affection
to the creature, — if Christ wished to satisfy
God by expiating our sins, it was right and
just that His Heart should suffer most and
bear the heaviest load of chastisement.
Let us, then, adore the Sacred Heart,
through the great wound which, upon the
Cross, opened It to us forever. In this Book
of Life, whose characters are deeply en
graven in blood, let us read, let us contem
plate, in amazed and compassionate adora
tion, all the suffering, the love, and the vir
tues, all the redeeming power of the Pas
sion: " Et aspicient ad me quern confine-
runt; et plangent eum planctu quasi super
unigentium — And they shall look upon Me
whom they have pierced; and they shall
mourn for Him as one mourneth for an only
son"(l).
THANKSGIVING.
The Sacred Heart is revealed in the Pas
sion by the goodness, meekness, and mercy,
which we can trace in it from the beginning
(1) Z*ch. xii, 10.
Eighth Day. 123
to the end of that terrible drama. Through
out its whole enactment, Jesus never ceased
to love, to show Himself kind to those who,
in any manner whatever, contributed to His
sufferings. His providential love was, at
the same time, preparing for the redeemed
of all future ages treasures of merit and
example.
As we can trace the course of a gentle
stream over the sharp rocks and down the
rugged sides of a mountain to the narrow
valleys below where, after spreading its fer
tilizing influence, it rushes on to wider
plains, so in the tumult and horror of the
Passion, we see the benevolence, the con
descension, the forgiveness, the tenderness
of this most sweet and loving Heart.
Neither man's excess of hatred and fury,
nor Its own excess of sufferings can cause
that Heart to cease from loving: "Aqua
mult a non potuerunt extinguere charitatem
— Many waters cannot quench charity "(1).
Its indulgent goodness received the trai
tor Judas, and hastened to cast on Peter,
who denied Him, a glance that smote his
heart. Its considerate goodness protected
(1) Cant, viii, 7.
124 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the liberty of His Apostles that they might
not share His captivity. Its sweet goodness
in the spirit of obedience bore with the ig
noble treatment and the iniquitous judgment
of the praetorium. Its generous and mag
nanimous goodness prayed for the salvation
of those that decreed and executed His
death-warrant. Its merciful goodness
granted pardon and salvation to the prayer
of the good thief. The provident tenderness
of Its filial piety strengthened Him to tear
Himself away from His Mother by giving
her John to hold to her the place of a son
when He Himself should be no more. Its
loving confidence committed His soul into
the hands of His Father at the very mo
ment that He appeared to be the most aban
doned by Him. All these exhalations from
the Heart of supreme goodness created
around the terrifying summit of Calvary an
atmosphere of sweetness, benevolence, and
peace.
Forgetful, at the same time, of Its pains,
and rising above all the torments that later
caused His death, the Sacred Heart urged
Jesus to occupy Himself only with us, our
welfare, our salvation. With every one of
the sufferings that oppressed Him, with
Eighth Day. 125
every humiliation that covered him with ig
nominy, with every drop of the blood which
He shed with so much agony, He mingled
the love and resignation, the humility and
meekness, the sweetness and perseverance
with which He bore them, thus forming the
necessary and efficacious remedies for our
soul. From them He accumulated the
treasure of merits from which we can draw
to enrich ourselves and purchase heaven,
and He wrote that book of beautiful and
magnificent examples, which the generations
of all ages will read for their encouragement
in trial and suffering. Jesus took care to
make Himself " the redemption and the jus
tification of all — Factus est nobis a Deo jus-
titia et sanctificatio et redemptio " (1). Ah,
what devoted goodness, what disinterested
benevolence were necessary for that ! But
His Heart, which had willed the Passion,
never ceased to act, transforming it entirely
into a work of love for our immense benefit.
Shall we ever be sufficiently grateful to
the Sacred Heart for Its goodness, for the
benefits that we derive from the Passion that
It endured for us ? Do we understand that
(1) I. Cor. i, 30.
126 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the best way to show our gratitude is to
take as a proof of love the trials that It
sends us?
" What shall I render to Thee for all the
favors Thou hast done me ? " exclaimed
Blessed Margaret Mary. " O my God, how
excessive is Thy goodness to me in wishing
that I should eat at the table of the saints
the same food with which Thou dost nour
ish them ! Ah ! dost Thou not well know
that without the Cross and the Blessed
Sacrament, I could not live, I could not sup
port the weariness of my exile in this vale
of tears, in which I do not desire any
diminution of my sufferings ? "
REPARATION.
By Its resolution to confront death, by the
immense share that It took in the sorrows
and humiliations of the Passion, the Sacred
Heart wished, and with good reason, to ex
piate the leading part that the human heart
takes in sin. It desires at the same time to
give sinners the grace and model of true
contrition and conversion.
It is the heart that is the guilty instrument
of sin, for the radical malice of sin consists
Eighth Day. 127
in the ungrateful abandonment and in
jurious contempt of the Infinite Good, which
the heart commits by turning away from
God, and in the perverse and disorderly
attachment by which it gives itself to the
created, passing, and finite good by its in
sulting preference. " Be astonished, O ye
heavens, at this, saith the Lord. My peo
ple have done two evils. They have for
saken me, the fountain of living water, and
have digged to themselves cisterns, broken
cisterns, that can hold no water !"(!)•
Every sin springs from this outrageous in
gratitude of the heart as from its source.
3 From the heart, as from their principle,
says the Divine Master, "come forth all
sins," even those of which the other mem
bers are the direct instruments. " For from
the heart come forth evil thoughts, mur
ders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
testimonies, blasphemies. These are the
things that defile a man "(2). Sin is so
much the more grievous as the heart is the
more attached to it, the more resolved upon
it. It is the more grievous as it is the more
(1) Jer. ii, 12.
(2) Matt. xv. 19.
128 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
loved, desired, and concealed in the heart,
which will not renounce it, which dissimu
lates it under the cloak of deceit and hypoc
risy, and which tries even to justify it. Sins
of surprise, impulse, or weakness are small
in comparison with those to which the heart
is attached, glued, as it were, in which it
takes its delights and appears to make its
final end and aim. Ah, this is why the
Saviour's Heart, which had taken them upon
Itself, had to expiate them by torments so
cruel !
Holy Scripture, in terms expressive of
every form of excessive sorrow and humilia
tion, depicts this most pure Heart struggling
with the sins of the human heart. It is a
Heart "troubled and shaken even to its
very depths by mortal terror; a Heart de
voured by pitiless fire ; a Heart which melts
like wax in the fire, and is liquefied like
water; a Heart reduced to nothingness; a
Heart abandoned, struck, bruised, broken,
humbled, rejected, plunged in darkness,
afflicted with innumerable tribulations,
filled with anguish, sighing and groaning
with sorrow, incapable of one sentiment of
self-defence or justification. And the
Gospel recounts the agony of this poor
Eighth Day. 129
Heart in these short words, wide and deep
like oceans of interior sorrow : " Jesus
began to fear and to be heavy, and He fell
flat on the ground, and He said : ' My soul
is sorrowful even unto death ! ' '
Ah, this is the true sorrow of the Just
One endured for sinners, the perfect con
trition, the satisfaction that pays every debt,
the sincere return to God by contempt of
every created joy, the sacrifice of every at
tachment to creatures! With this contri
tion of infinite efficacy, conceived and of
fered to God by the Heart of Him who,
having no sin, was burdened with the male
diction incurred by our trangressions, we
must penetrate our heart in order to return
it to God by a true conversion, torn and
bruised by repentance : " Convertimini ad
me in toto corde vestro; et scindite cord'i
vestra et non vestimenta vestra! — Be con
verted to me with all your heart, in fasting,
and in weeping, and in mourning, and rend
your hearts, and not your garments" (1).
Unless we hearken to these words of the
inspired prophet, terrible will be the chas
tisement that will strike our heart both in
(i) Joel ii, 12.
130 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
this life and in the next, for if the pure and
living Heart was thus afflicted, what will it
be with a dry and withered one? "Si in
viridi ligno h<zc faciunt, in arido quid fiet?
— For if in the green wood they do these
things, what shall be done in the dry? "(1).
All the heartaches that cast a gloom over
life and fill it with bitterness ; that long and
sad privation in purgatory of the possession
of God, more cruel than the flames of the
fiery prison itself ; the absolute abandonment
of the soul by God, with no hope of any
possible communication with Him under the
weight of His wrath and malediction in hell
— such are the chastisements of the guilty
heart that refuses to cast itself into the
wounded Heart of Jesus, thence to draw
contrition, repentance, and love, which wash
away every fault, deliver from every punish
ment, and reconcile with God in eternal
peace !
Ah! rather let us imitate Blessed Mar
garet Mary who, after Communion, having
seen Jesus under the figure of the Ecce
Homo laden with His Cross, covered with
wounds and bruises, heard Him say to her
(1) Luke xxiii, 31.
Eighth Day. 131
in a voice full of sadness: "Will no one
have pity on Me? " The Blessed Sister fell
at His feet with tears and sighs. "The
Saviour," she tells us, " laid upon my shoul
ders His heavy Cross, which was bristling
with iron points. While sinking under its
weight, I began to understand as never be
fore, the malice and grievousness of sin. I
detested it so heartily that I should have
preferred a thousand times to cast myself
headlong into hell than ever commit a single
one. ' O abominable sin ! ' I exclaimed,
' how detestable thou art, on account of the
injury thou didst inflict on my Sovereign
Good!5"
PETITION.
The grace that comes from the contem
plation of Jesus in the Passion is chiefly the
love of suffering such as He Himself had,
the love of it for His sake, because He loved
it for ours.
Although He fully understood all its ex
tent and horror, Jesus voluntarily chose suf
fering. He took upon Himself far more
than was necessary to satisfy the Father
and to redeem the world from sin, and this
He did only because to embrace greater suf-
132 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
faring is a proof of greater love. Will not
this example of His, this proof of His im
mense goodness toward us, convert us to
the love of suffering, or, at least, to love
God in that which He sends us even if we
have not the courage to ask for more and
still more?
To love God in suffering is to submit
without undue sadness or murmuring to His
will in time of trial. It is to offer Him our
pain as a sacrifice of prayer and expiation.
It is to continue to hope in Him, to believe
in His goodness, in spite of the appearance
of severity that accompanies the trial, to
think well of Him : " Sentite de Domino in
bonitate — Think of the Lord in good
ness " (1). To love God in suffering is to
cultivate the virtues that it requires and that
it so quickly perfects, namely, humility,
meekness, patience, fortitude, and love:
" Patientia opus perfectum habet — Patience
hath a perfect work " (2).
To love God in suffering is to transform
suffering into apostolic charity by offering
all that it holds in the way of sorrow and
(1) Wisd. i, i.
(2) James i, 4.
Eighth Day. 133
humiliation for the neighbor, his salvation
and sanctification, for the conversion of sin
ners, for the dying, and for the deliverance
of the souls in purgatory.
How easy this Christian love of suffering,
though so horrible to the senses, so inex
plicable and repugnant to reason, would be
come if we beheld and understood it in the
light of the Sacred Heart! The love of
suffering is, in fact, only the love of Jesus
Himself. It is true that all imaginable suf
ferings were heaped upon Him, and that
He willed, endured, and embraced all. It is
also true that every suffering sent by Him
is an effusion of His Heart. As it is from
the plenitude of His grace that we receive
every grace, it is from the plenitude of His
sufferings comes every trial that we have to
bear. It was once endured by Him. It
comes steeped in His Blood, adorned with
His virtues, transformed by His loving
patience into love and merit for us. Oh,
what intensified misfortune, what manifold
trials, is suffering without love, is suffering
deprived of the light and support of the
Sacred Heart ! Suffering must be borne
even if there be no supernatural strength,
no hope, and no fruit. How much more
134 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
severe, more bitter, and more crushing it
then is! Oh, how much easier it is to en
dure for love, to pay a debt of love, to share
the pain of one beloved, to relieve him, to
be inseparably united with him, to press the
heart wounded by trial against the Heart
crushed by the Passion! The Apostle ex
perienced this, and gave us the example of
it when, enumerating the torments and
death that threatened him, he exclaimed:
" Sed in his omnibus superamus propter
eum qui dilexit nos! — But in all these things
we overcome because of Him that hath
loved us"(l).
And Margaret Mary, the confidante of the
Heart that was broken on the Cross, that is
annihilated in the Sacrament for love of us,
says : " I know not how a spouse of Jesus
Crucified can fail to love the Cross, can flee
from it, since in doing so she despises Him
who bore it for our love and made of it the
object of His delights. We can love Him
only inasmuch as we love crosses. He has
Himself told me that, as often as I shall en
counter the Cross and lovingly place it in
my heart, I shall with it receive and taste
(1) Rom. viii, 37.
Eighth Day. 135
the sweets of His Presence, for He accom
panies it everywhere as being the true char
acter of His love. I had this assurance after
Holy Communion."
May it be for us, also, the fruit of each of
our Communions and the practical con
clusion of this adoration !
Beg Our Lord to give you sincere sorrow
for your sins.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Precious
Blood of Jesus in satisfaction for my sins
and for the wants of Holy Church.
(100 days' Indulgence.)
ttfntb
THE SACRED HEART IN GETHSEMANI.
ADORATION.
THAT part of the drama of the Passion
which was played in Gethsemani may prop
erly be called the Passion of the Sacred
Heart. Although the Heart of the Saviour,
in all the torments that He underwent for
us, ceased not for one instant to suffer, even
till the last pulsation with which He
breathed forth His soul upon the Cross, yet
it was in Gethsemani that every pang sprang
from the depths of His Heart, fell back upon
His Heart, flowed in torture over His Heart.
It was from the Heart alone that His agony
then came, for no external violence from
the hands of the myrmidons who seized
Him, the iniquitous judges who condemned
Him, the executioners who scourged, buf
feted and crucified Him, then struck the
Divine Victim.
From this almost limitless domain of the
Passion of the Sacred Heart, we shall
choose as our subject of adoration the
136
Ninth Day. 137
prayer of Our Divine Master during this
night of agony., We shall reflect upon it as
the motive and example of prayer by night,
which in our own day receives the name of
Nocturnal Adoration, and which was de
manded by the Sacred Heart from Blessed
Margaret Mary as one of the chief means
of Its worship.
" Every night, between Thursday and
Friday, you shall rise to share in the sad
ness that I willed to endure in the Garden of
Olives, and to bear Me company in the
humble prayer I then presented to My
Father."
The Gospel tells us very plainly that the
Saviour desired with a formal desire several
times expressed, that His Apostles should
watch and pray with Him on the night pre
ceding His Passion.
It was by night that Christ went to Geth-
semani to pray. He consecrated three hours
to that earnest prayer, which His grief
changed for Him into an " agony."
The Pasch was celebrated after sundown.
Jesus entered the Cenacle at nightfall and,
after the three repasts, that of the Paschal
lamb, that of the ordinary supper, and that
of the Last Supper, it was night, as says
138 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the Sacred Text. Then Judas, the double
traitor toward his Master, went out, to de
liver Him to His enemies: " Erat autem
nox — And it was night" (1). It is prob
able that Jesus entered the Garden about the
ninth hour, and we are led to believe that
He prolonged His prayer for the space of
three hours. We know for certain that He
spent one full hour in prayer before going
to the Apostles, and saying to them: "Sic
non potuistis una hora vigilare mecum? —
What! Could you not watch one hour with
Me?" (2) As the Evangelists describe in
the same terms the other two stations that
Jesus made afar from His Apostles : " He
went again the second and third time, and
prayed, saying the self-same words: Et
iteruin secundo abiit ct oravit, eundem ser-
monem dicens"(3), it is very probable that
each one of those prayers lasted an hour.
What makes this the more likely is the fact,
that St. Luke says : " Et factus in agonia,
prolixius orabat — And being in an agony,
He prayed the longer "(4).
(1) John xiii, 30.
(2) Matt, xxvi, 40.
(3) John xiii, 30.
(4) Luke xxii, 43.
Ninth Day. 139
Commentators tell us, also, that in resum
ing His prayers, despite the violent struggle
that He experienced, the Saviour wished to
give His Apostles an example of persever
ance in prayer. He desired to teach them
that it must be prolonged until the soul feels
itself drawn nearer to God, its hope en
livened, its needs supplied, or its will more
perfectly submissive to that of God. They
say, also, that it was only at the third period
of His prayer that an angel " was sent to
console and to strengthen Him."
The foregoing reasons render it very
credible that the Saviour prolonged His
prayer in the Garden three hours. He
passed, in consequence, a great part of the
night in adoration before His Divine
Father. By His own example, He conse
crated in advance the nocturnal prayer
which the Church was to practise at all pe
riods of her existence. He Himself set the
example before demanding it formally of
His Apostles, His first disciples, priests, and
religious.
THANKSGIVING.
Yes, it is first of all for Himself, for the
support and consolation of His Heart, so
140 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
truly human, that He desires His Apostles
to share in His sorrowful prayer. He has
need of sympathy, companionship, and fidel
ity. In all His strength as the Son of God,
He willed to be feeble as the Son of Man!
He is plunged in death-like sadness, and His
Heart is about to begin a mortal combat.
Nothing is more necessary to a sufferer than
the constant and faithful presence of a sym
pathizing friend, who understands, enters
into, and compassionates his pain. And so
does Jesus " look for some one who will con
sole Him by sharing His sadness." He is
about to descend into the arena, to begin,
in accordance with the will of His Father,
a combat of tears and supplications, to miti
gate His rigor and obtain that He will be
pleased " to allow that chalice to pass ! "
His Heart revolts at the thought of all the
treason, abandonment, and denials in store
for Him, and He has to combat against that
repugnance. He has to struggle with His
own soul to make it yield voluntarily to a
flood of opprobrium and ignominy, and even
against His flesh itself when imposing upon
it the most horrible sufferings. He feels all
the horror of one that has to combat alone,
for " if he falls, who will raise him up? "
Ninth Day. 141
Oppressed by the necessities of the human
rtature which He so freely assumed, Jesus
implores the presence and assistance of those
whom He has a right to think His friends,
since He had so loved them. He makes
known to them the need that He has of
them : " Ah ! watch ye and pray with me,
for my soul is sad unto death ! "
And when yielding to the inexorable de
cision of His Father, who will pardon the
guilty only at the price of the death volun
tarily embraced by the Innocent One ; when
overcome by grief and shame at the thought
of the cruelty, the excess of humiliation,
which are about to make of Him " the last
of men and the outcast of the people," He
fled the field of His defeat to find in trie
vigilant solicitude of His own a little respite
and relief, how did He appear ? Ah, behold
Him ; His face wan, His eyes sunken, His
head bowed down, His shoulders stooped,
covered with the bloody sweat that has been
forced from His pores by the weight of His
mental sufferings ! Listen to Him begging
His Apostles to have pity on Him, not to re
fuse " to watch and pray at least one hour
with Him."
11
142 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
REPARATION.
Although the prayer of the Saviour in the
Garden of Olives is in itself a deep mine for
meditation, we shall very briefly indicate ac
cording to the Gospel, its exterior character
and interior composition, since it should
serve as a model for " all the servants of
the Lord," who, leaving their couches, pass
the night in the temple, their hands raised
toward the tabernacle, and blessing the
Lord: " Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum,
omnes servi Domini . In noctibus
extollite manus vestras in sancta, et benedi
cite Dominum — Behold now, bless ye the
Lord, all the servants of the Lord . . .
In the nights lift up your hands to the holy
places, and bless ye the Lord " (1).
Let us contemplate the Saviour's prayer
in its religious exterior in the sombre sanc
tuary of Gethsemani, He withdraws some
paces from even His most intimate disciples,
in order to separate Himself from every
creature, buries Himself in solitude favor
able to prayer, and presents Himself alone
before His Divine Father : " Et progressus
(l) Ps. cxxxiii.
Ninth Day. 143
pusillum, avulsus est ab els quantum jactus
est lapidis — And when He had gone for ward
a little, about a stone's throw," He fell upon
His knees in prayer, acknowledging before
the Divine Majesty the inferiority and weak
ness of His human nature : " Et positis
genibus orabat — And falling on His knees,
He prayed." But that posture is not suf
ficiently humiliating. He falls face down
ward on the earth, overwhelmed by the
weight of Divine Justice. He hides His
face because, covered with our sins as with
a filthy leprosy and struck on that account
by the wrath of God, He cannot endure the
brightness of His sanctity: " Procidit super
t err am in fad em suam, orans — He fell on
His face to the earth, praying." Struck.
humbled, rejected by His Father, for whose
honor, however, He was suffering, He fell
into an agony, "Foetus in agonia"
The struggle between His spiritual will
which wishes at any price to satisfy the de
mands of God and His sensible will which
He permits to feel and express insurmount
able repugnance, is such that from His
whole person, crushed under the weight of
agony, a bloody sweat breaks out. Soon He
is covered with it from head to foot. It
144 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
flows down on the earthen floor of the
grotto : ff Et factus est sudor ejus sicut
guttae sanguinis decurrentis in terrain
— And His sweat became as drops of blood,
trickling down upon the ground."
In this abasement, in this agony, Jesus
prays for three hours! — Ah, how humble,
respectful, submissive, and at the same time
loving and confident toward His Father!
" Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice
from Me! Yet not My will, but Thine be
(ione j " — And again : " Abba, Father, all
things are possible to Thee! Remove this
chalice from Me, but not what I will, but
what Thou wilt ! "—And again : " My
Father, if this chalice may not pass away but
I must drink it, Thy will be done ! "
In the Saviour's soul, His agony was still
more cruel. It was from the exhaustion of
His Heart that His knees had given way
and that He had fallen to the earth. It was
from the extreme sadness of His Heart, tor
tured by the most cruel agonies, that had
sprung the bloody sweat which inundated
Him.
PETITION.
The " Master of Prayer " gave in the
Garden the ideal model of every prayer.
Ninth Day, 145
Though under different conditions, He con
tinues this example in the Eucharist.
Instituted to be the perfect and perpetual
memorial of the Passion of the Saviour, the
Eucharist carries down through the cen
turies the remembrance of the prayer and
the agony of Gethsemani, It recalls the fact
itself together with the sorrow and the love.
It applies its virtues, and confers its fruits.
It continues it in reality, but under condi
tions compatible with the glorified and im
passible state which the immortal Christ re
tains even under the sacramental veil of
death. Of the mental and physical suffer
ings, of the bloody sweat, of the abandon
ment of His Father which marked His
agony, the Eucharistic Christ retains only
the remembrance, a remembrance blessed
and recompensed. But desirous to per
petuate as much of His Passion as is pos
sible, He continues His prayer in the lowli
ness of a state of inertia, which abases Him
before His Father even below that of Geth
semani. There, the pallor of His divine
countenance, the agony and the blood, with
out doubt, disfigured Him ; but here, He is
no longer human, He is but a little dust. He
dwells alone, abandoned by indifferent, un-
146 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
grateful, or hostile men, an abandonment far
more displeasing to Him than was the sleep
of the Apostles ; and there He will remain
night and day until the consummation of
ages. Every morning at the Consecration,
He descends, perseveringly overcoming
all repugnance, into the Gethsemani of the
Sacrament, there to resume His prayer, in
the humility of His attitude and the ardor
of His desires for the redemption of the
world and the coming of His kingdom.
But remaining truly man in His Heart
and affections, seeking a return of love from
us, still feeling the need of our presence and
fidelity, of our sympathy and compassion,
in which He finds consolation for His past
sufferings and present humiliations, He calls
upon us, He supplicates us to keep Him com
pany, to stay with Him, to unite with Him
in prayer as much for His sake as for our
own. It was this desire that He earnestly
expressed at the moment He instituted the
Eucharist, when He said : " Manete in me,
manete in dilectione mea — Remain in me, re
main in my love." He did this in a manner
still more precise when He deigned to throw
off the sacramental veils and reveal the
mystery of His existence, the love and the
needs of His Heart in the Eucharist.
Ninth Day. 147
To His blessed confidante, Margaret
Mary, He said : " Every night between
Thursday and Friday, thou shalt rise be
tween eleven and twelve o'clock and bear
Me company in the humble prayer which I
offered to My Father in the Garden of
Olives. During this hour thou shalt do
what I shall teach thee.
" Thou shalt prostrate, face downward on
the ground, as much to appease the Divine
anger while imploring mercy for sinners,
as to sweeten in some degree the abandon
ment of My Apostles, which forced Me to
reproach them for not having watched one
hour with Me.
" I shall make thee share in the mortal
sadness which I then willed to endure, and
it shall reduce thee, without thy being able
to understand it, to a species of agony more
insupportable than death itself."
Beg Our Eucharistic Lord to increase the
devotion of the Holy Hour among the Faith
ful.
Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make
my heart like unto Thine.
(300 days' Indulgence.)
Uentb
THE SACRED HEART IN AGONY.
ADORATION.
^ THE Saviour called the whole Apostolic
College to accompany Him in His prayer:
" Sedete hie donee vadam illuc et or em — Sit
you here, till I go yonder and pray." To
three chosen friends among them, whom He
took with Him to the vicinity of the grotto
into which He descended to pray, He said :
" Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem:
sustinete hie et vigilate mecum! — My soul i?
sorrowful even unto death: stay here and
watch with Me." Is this only a simple recom
mendation? Is it an order? Is it a task
that He assigns? a prayer that He ad
dresses to them? We cannot read these
words without being impressed by their
earnestness and their sorrowful accent, with
out beholding the august countenance of the
Saviour already clouded by mortal sadness,
without comprehending that His Heart,
terror-stricken, agonized, filled with bitter -
148
Tenth Day. 149
ness and disgust, is already in the throes of
anguish.
If Jesus commands the Apostles to watch,
it is that they may pray with Him ; for when,
after an hour of struggle, He returned to
seek relief and comfort in their fidelity and
found them sleeping heavily, He roused
them with these energetic words : " Why
sleep ye? Arise, pray! — Quid dormitis?
Surgite, orate! " He reproached them with
their sloth : " Sic non potuistis una hora
ingilare mecum! — Could you not watch one
hour with me? "
Twice did He return with the same en
treaties, which He supported on the motive
of their own interest and the threat of see
ing it compromised : " Vigilate et orate, ut
non intretis in tentationem — Watch and
pray that ye enter not into temptation.'"'
" Spiritus quid em promptus, caro out em in-
firma — The spirit indeed is willing " (to re
solve and to promise), "but the flesh is
weak " (to execute). Being able neither by
prayer nor recommendation nor reproofs
nor threats, to overcome their pitiful torpor,
He said to them at last in a tone of gentle
irony : " Sleep ye now, and take your rest :
— Dormite jam et requiescite." The hour
12
150 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
for prayer is past. But no: " Suflicit — It
is enough. The hour is come. Behold the
Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands
of sinners. Rise, let us go. Behold, he
that will betray Me is at hand. — Surgite,
eamus: ecce qui me tradet, prope est."
There can be no wish more clearly de
fined, no demand more pressing. The
Saviour surely wills that His followers
should unite with Him in His watching and
praying.
He even deigned to give the reasons for it,
and they are both urgent and touching. He
sums them up in these two words : the press
ing need of His Heart, and the chief interest
of their soul.
THANKSGIVING.
But, alas ! This consolation, so legitimate
and so humbly sought after, He does not
find : " Consolantem me quaesivi et non in-
venil — And I looked for one that would
comfort me, and I found none ! " This dis
appointment was for Jesus' Heart what the
draught of biting vinegar and the bitter gall
were to His parched lips and mouth : " De-
derunt in escam meam fel, ct in siti me a po-
taverunt me aveto! — They gave me gall for
Tenth Day. 151
my food, and in my thirst they gave me vine
gar to drink!" (1)
The Heart of the Saviour is too generous,
too disinterested to desire the Apostles to
watch and pray only on His account. He
was seeking their own most sacred interests,
their victory over the most formidable temp
tations, their perseverance in faith. The
capture of their Divine Master, the chaining
of His power, which has suddenly become
inert, the insolent triumph of His enemies
were to be for them a terrible occasion of
scandal and ruin. Satan, who had asked to
sift them, is now about to rain blows upon
them. When Jesus, His hands bound, will
have been led away to malicious and per
fidious tribunals, they will be alone, the " dis
persed sheep of the Shepherd that has been
struck."
Humble, prolonged, persevering prayer,
united to that of their Master, vivified and
perfected by it, can alone strengthen them
against the furious assaults of those temp
tations. Ah ! " Watch and pray that ye
enter not into temptation ! Reckon not on
the impulse of the spirit, ready to promise.
(I) Ps. Ixviii, 22.
152 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
but inflated by presumption. Fear the flesh
subject to weakness and drawing the spirit
downward in its fall ! " And how He in
sisted when care for their safety, which He
knew depended on the prolonging of their
watching and the earnestness of their
prayer, snatched Him from His own agony,
and led Him back to them : " What, sleep
ing still ? Arise ! Pray, lest ye yield to
temptation ! "
Thus, for His own sake and for theirs,
the Saviour called upon His followers to
pass with Him a part of that frightful night
of His Passion in prolonged watching and
prayer.
REPARATION.
Four elements unchained in the tempest
against the Saviour, had penetrated His
Heart, breaking and crushing It in their
fury. The Gospel names them, and it is
sufficient to recall them to have some idea of
the frightful agony of the Sacred Heart dur
ing this prayer, which they transformed into
a bloody sacrifice, into a consuming holo
caust. As His sadness was, as He says
Himself, " even unto death," the paroxysms
of fear, weariness, and disgust that seized
Tenth Day. 153
Him were capable of causing death. Their
attacks were mortal, and would really have
cut short His life had not the superhuman
effort of His will and the special assistance
of the Divinity preserved it : " Tristis est
anima me a usque ad mortem — My soul is
sorrowful unto death."
He was attacked by fear : (f Coepit pa-
vere — He began to be afraid." Anxiety,
disquietude, fright, terror seized upon His
soul, agitating and crushing Him before His
Father's angry countenance. He found
that beloved Father implacably exacting all
the horrors of His Passion and death, be
fore restoring Him to His friendship and
granting Him the salvation of the world.
He was seized by sadness : " Coepit con-
tristari — He began to be sad " when He saw
the inevitable necessity of suffering those
evils. Black, deep, frozen, like a bottom
less abyss whose waters madly rose to over
whelm, to engulf Him without chance of es
cape, — such was the sadness that rilled the
Sacred Heart at that dread moment.
He was attacked by weariness : ff Coepit
taedere — He began to be heavy." Blind
ing Him as with a thick veil, weariness of
soul weighed heavily upon His will, stifling
154 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
hope, nullifying effort, and annihilating
courage.
Lastly, disgust filled the soul of our agon
izing Savionr : " Coepit moestus esse — He
began to feel disgust." The humiliating
bitterness arising from the deception, the
perfidy, the betrayal, the indifference, and
abandonment of His own made His Heart
sick. It heaved within His Sacred Breast
and melted like water.
Now, these terrors, this sadness, weari
ness, and disgust sprang from the necessity
to drink the chalice presented Him, and
which His Father refused to remove from
His lips. And what did this chalice of the
divine wrath contain? All the sins of the
world, even the most horrible, the most
filthy — all were placed upon Him that He
might expiate them. He had to endure all
the chastisements that they merited and all
the evils by which God's wrath is pourej
out upon the sinner. The ignominy, the
violence, the iniquity, and the sufferings of
the Passion — death upon the accursed Cross
in total abandonment of God and men — all
are before him. And still more, the im
measurable sorrow of His innocent and
much loved Mother fell upon His Heart
Tenth Day. 155
along with the knowledge of the utter use-
lessness of His sufferings for so large a
number of ungrateful creatures, who ob
stinately refused the salvation they were to
purchase for them.
It was in this struggle, this prayer so sor
rowful and crucifying, that the Saviour
persevered for long hours, and which Ha
prolonged in proportion as it became more
painful: " Factus in agonia, prolixius
orabat— Being in agony, He prayed the
longer." He prayed the longer, because
persevering prayer alone is heard. And,
in effect, He did obtain, with strength to
overcome all torments by His patience,
God's pardon for sinners, the salvation of
the world, the resurrection of His Body,
and the glory of His eternal reign.
PETITION.
It cannot be doubted that though noc
turnal prayer as practised in all ages of the
Church by her canons and religious, draws
one of its greatest powers of praise, repara
tion, and intercession from the prayer of
Christ in Gethsemani, yet the prayer here
demanded by the Sacramental Christ not
ably differs from it as to form and spirit.
156 The Eucharistic Heart of Jems.
It is a new fruit of this garden of prayer,
fertilized by the Blood of the Agony, vivi
fied forever by the breath of the prolonged
supplication of the Saviour floating through
the olive trees. Instead of vocal prayer,
what the Master of every form of prayer
here demands, is mental prayer, interior
prayer, silent contemplation. Instead of
the various liturgical attitudes observed in
public prayer, it is the imitation of His
humiliated posture, the kneeling, the pro
longed prostration with the face against the
earth. It is not praise of the perfections
and benefits of God, but the spiritual par
ticipation in the sadness, in the abandon
ment of the Son of God made Man and the
Victim of men. It is communion by com
passionate love with Christ agonizing. It
is the apostolate of charity for sinners by
prayer and reparation, offered for them in
union with the Divine Priest, who continues
on the altar to present to His Father the
supplications, tears, and blood which He
shed for them as well in Gethsemani as on
Calvary. It is, in fine, every prayer made
at the foot of the altar in presence of the
Sacred Victim, in order to honor that
Presence and to render our own prayer ef-
Tenth Day. 157
fectual, to console the Heart of Him,
" whose delights are to be with the children
of men," and to petition for those that have
the most need of His mercy.
Is not all this the Nocturnal Adoration,
the prayer of the night, to which, interrupt
ing their repose, religious in their cloisters,
priests and men and women of the world in
their parish churches, give themselves up
prostrate or kneeling? They unite by medi
tation, by silent contemplation, by loving
colloquies, with the prayer which the Agon
izing One of the Garden, the annihilated
Christ of the Eucharist, still continues be
fore their eyes.
O all ye who believe in Him, hearken to
the call which the Sacred Heart makes to
you for Nocturnal Adoration! Arise!
Leave your couch unhesitatingly, and sac
rifice to Him your repose ! Watch with
Him ! Combat courageously the attacks of
sleep, torpor of the mental faculties, and
comfortable positions that favor it. Let us
prostrate before Him ! Let us kneel as long
as possible at His side, uniting our adora
tion to His, for He is both the God whom
we adore, and the only perfect Adorer by
whom we can adore Him as we should !
158 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Let us obey His teachings, let us detest
sin, first, in ourselves by rousing in our soul
something of the horror that He feels on
account of the injury it does to God His
Father and to the souls of His brethren.
Then let us appease the divine anger by our
tears and supplications, our sentiments of
reparation and penitence while begging par
don for sinners.
Let us by an attentive, earnest, and com
passionate consideration, try to compre
hend in some degree the terror, sadness,
weariness, disgust, which filled the Sacred
Heart in Gethsemani, and which are still so
fresh in His memory, since men are con
stantly renewing them by their manifold of
fences.
Then let us earnestly pray for ourselves
that we may not fall into temptation, into the
temptation of infidelity to the duties of our
state, into the temptation of the pleasures of
the world and of the flesh, into the tempta
tion of discouragement in our pains and
trials, into the temptation of apostasy from
our faith when confronted with persecution.
Like Jesus, let us pray for strength to de
sire the will of God, whatever it may be. Let
us ask this for ourselves and our loved ones
Tenth Day. 159
in sickness, misfortune, abandonment, and
death. If while making this prayer, while
in the actual Presence of God in the Eucha
rist, and at the moment in which He is lis
tening to it, our soul should fall into the
agony of disquietude, weariness, disgust or
sadness, let us press close to the Agonizing
One, who was weighed down by all these af
flictions even unto death. Let us persevere,
let us go on with our prayer, satisfied to
repeat after Him and with Him in our heart
or with our lips : " Vcrumtamen, non mea,
sed tua vohmtas fiat! — Nevertheless, not my
will, but Thine be done ! "
Ah, yes ! Jesus' prayer in the Garden on
the night of His Passion is the reason for
the invitation, the example, and the grace,
the justification and the pledge of success of
Nocturnal Adoration.
May its remembrance always accompany
and sustain us there: " Sustinete hie et
vigilate mecum! — Stay ye here and watch
with me ! "
Let your visits to the Blessed Sacrament
be more frequent and fervent.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, solace in our
exile, give peace to the Church.
(50 days' Indulgence.)
Eleventb
THE WOUND OF THE SACRED HEART.
IF there is in the history of the Sacred
Heart one fact of supreme prominence, it
is that of the thrust of the soldier's lance
that was buried in the Side of the dead Re
deemer. In the worship of the Sacred
Heart, consequently, what most rouses the
ardent faith of him who contemplates It,
what most excites the compassion of the
tender soul, is this Wound. When reveal
ing His Heart, the Divine Master always
shows It open like the hospitable door of
an asylum or sanctuary, like the orifice of a
gushing stream, like the hearth of a burning
furnace. "One day/' says Blessed Mar
garet Mary, " the Divine Heart was shown
me on a throne of fire and flames, emitting
rays on all sides, more brilliant than the sun
and transparent as crystal. The Wound
that It had received on the Cross was strik
ingly visible."
The subject of this adoration will be the
reality of this Sacred Wound; the thanks-
160
Eleventh Day. 161
giving, the love that It shows to us; the
reparation, the sin that caused It; the peti
tion, the fruits that we ought to derive from
It.
ADORATION.
The following passage from the Gospel
of St. John insures to us the right to recog
nize and adore the Wound of the Sacred
Heart:
" Jesus, therefore, when He had taken
the vinegar, said: It is consummated.
And bowing His head, He gave up the
ghost. Then the Jews (because it was the
parasceve) that the bodies might not re
main upon the cross on the Sabbath-day
(for that was a great Sabbath-day) be
sought Pilate that their legs might be
broken, and that they might be taken away.
The soldiers therefore came : and they broke
the legs of the first, and of the other that
was crucified with Him. But after they
were come to Jesus, when they saw that He
was already dead, they did not break His
legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear
opened His side, and immediately there
came out blood and water" (1).
(1) John xix, 30-34.
162 The En char is tic Heart of ]
csns.
From the foregoing words we may posi
tively believe that the Side of Jesus was
pierced by the thrust of a lance. It appears,
moreover, indubitable that that same blow
transpierced the Heart, also, of the Divine
Crucified. The Evangelist does not say so
in precise terms, but reason and authority
combine to make this assertion absolutely
incontestable.
First, reason tells us so. It is very prob
able that the soldier, either to assure him
self that the Christ was really dead, or to
give Him the final death-stroke, designedly
drove his lance into the very Heart of
Jesus. The Wound of the Side, moreover,
was so large, so deep, that one might easily
thrust his hand into It, as St. Thomas did
on the invitation of the risen Redeemer.
Such a wound could not have been dug in
the breast without transpiercing the Heart.
Again, the abundant flow of blood and water
which spouted out under that blow, proves
that the Heart had been struck; for the
Heart is the source of the blood. It alone
could still retain some after the other mem
bers of the body had shed theirs by the
wounds of the scourging and the Cruci
fixion. Again, Christ willed that His Heart
Eleventh Day. 163
should be wounded that it might be appar
ent with what love He regarded His Church,
to whom He says with so much tenderness :
" Thou hast wounded My Heart, O My
well-beloved Spouse ! " Lastly, it is evi
dent that this Wound of His Side had a
mystical relation with His Heart. Christ
willed that It should be the open gate which,
revealing to us His Heart, should afford us
an assured entrance into It.
Secondly, the weight of authority is
added to reason. In the Decree of Beati
fication of Blessed Margaret Mary, Pius IX
thus expressed himself : " Who, then, will
be so hard, so insensible, as not to be forced
to return love for love to this most sweet
Heart, which was wounded, transpierced by
a lance, in order that our soul might find in
It a refuge, a secure asylum from the pur
suit, from the deceits of its enemies: Cor
illud suavissimum idcirco transfixum et vul-
neratum lanced? " This Decree repeats the
tender, the burning words of St. Augus
tine, of St. Bernard, of St. Bonaventure on
the mysterious opening of the Side of the
Saviour, which calls to us to enter into His
Heart, to abide therein, to live and to die
therein.
164 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
To unfold to the eyes of faith the full
reality of the Wound of the Sacred Heart,
we add that the Blood and water, though
issuing from It at the same moment, did so
without mixing with each other. The
Blood was substantially blood; the water,
pure and natural, with no foreign tinge
whatever. That Blood was miraculously
preserved and that water miraculously
formed in the Sacred Heart Itself. It wa's
by a miracle, also, that they streamed forth
instantaneously and abundantly under the
stroke of the lance, and yet without min
gling.
The Saviour willed, likewise, that this
Wound should remain open in His resusci
tated Body, not like the scar of a wound
badly closed, not painful to look upon as
it was in the Side of the Christ dead upon
the Cross, but wonderfully harmonizing
with the beauty of His glorified Humanity.
It was shining with light, or, as St. Ber
nard says, It was "the most beautiful of
the five roses that expanded upon the fruit
ful stem of our most sweet Saviour, by the
heat of His ardent love : Intuere et respice
rosam Passionis sanguineae, quomodo rubet
Eleventh Day. 165
in indicium ardentissimae charitatis " (1) .
Let us, then, approach with respect the
Saviour who, in the Most Blessed Sacra
ment, presents to our adoration this Sacred
Wound, so authentic, so profound, so last
ing. A living memorial of the past, It is
in the present a powerful centre of action,
and the sure guarantee of the eternal future.
It repeats to us with open lips not only all
the sufferings, but all the love of Our Sav
iour's death. It continues, It untiringly per
fects in our behalf the work of Its Redemp
tion. It proclaims that heaven is open to
all who raise a sincere and suppliant glance
to " Him whom they have transpierced : Et
adspicient ad quern confixerunt" (2).
" One day," says Blessed Margaret
Mary, " the Blessed Sacrament being ex
posed, Jesus Christ, my Divine Master, pre
sented Himself to me, radiant with glory,
His five Wounds brilliant as so many suns.
From all parts of His Sacred Humanity,
there issued flames, above all, from His
sacred breast, which resembled a furnace.
Opening it, He showed me His Divine
Heart, the burning centre of those flames."
(1) Ex. Off., Quinque Vulnemm, Led. IV.
(2) Zach. xii, 10.
166 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
THANKSGIVING.
Love, supreme love, which the Wound of
the Sacred Heart so plainly manifests, calls
for our gratitude. One of the principal
reasons that led the Son of God to allow
His Heart to be wounded was, that it might
serve as an unmistakable sign, as an authen
tic seal of His love for men.
The Sacred Wound, chaining the atten
tion to the Heart of the Saviour, proclaims
that it is from that Heart, that is, from His
love, proceeds all the self-sacrifice of His
life, whether in sentiments of tenderness,
pity, and mercy, in words of instruction
and consolation, or in works of healing and
conversion. From It, also, came forth all
the sufferings embraced and supported even
to the end of His Passion. From It, in
fine, originated that death undergone upon
the accursed Cross for the expiation of sin
and the liquidation of its insolvent obliga
tions, for the satisfaction of Divine Jus
tice, and for the reconciliation of Divine
Mercy with mankind repentant and for
given. "Behold," says St. Bernard, "the
secret of the Sacred Heart revealed by the
wounds opened in the Saviour's flesh! Be-
Eleventh Day. 167
hold the grand mystery of Divine Goodness
laid bare ! Behold the bowels of mercy dis
closed to view ! Patet arcanum Cordis per
foramina corporis; patet magnum pietatis
sacramentum; patent viscera misericor-
" By allowing His Heart to be pierced
after His death, the Divine Master disclosed
both the supreme gift of His Heart and the
supreme proof of His love. While still
alive, He had delivered His head to thorns,
His shoulders to the scourges, His hands
and feet to the nails. His Heart alone, al
though It had cruelly suffered from all Its
effusions of blood, had escaped without a
direct bruise, without a wound dug in Its
very substance. That He might not appear
reluctant to deliver for our salvation the
most noble organ of His Sacred Body,
Christ offered His Heart to be transpierced
by the thrust of the soldier's lance "(2).
He testified thereby that He truly loved us
to the end: In fineni — to the end of His
life, even unto death, yes, and beyond death.
(1) Serm. Ixi, 4.
(2) Fr. Lucas Brug, in Joan. xix.
168 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
It is the excess, the superabundance, of the
evidences of His love !
That Wound is, also, the authentic seal
of God's reconciliation with us, the proof
that having banished us from His Heart as
well as from Paradise, He has now restored
to us both the one and the other. The lance
of the soldier opened and holds open the
gate that the archangel's flaming sword
kept closed. " Behold ! " exclaims St. Ber
nard, " the gate of Paradise reopened and
the fiery sword thrust aside by the bloody
lance! Behold the Tree of Life pierced
not only in Its branches, but in Its very
core! Behold the treasure of eternal love
opened! Enter, then, those large openings
of the Sacred Wounds: Ecce aperta est
janua Paradisi et per lane earn militis gladius
versatilis est amotus! Ecce Lignum vitae
tarn in ramis quam in stipite perforatum!
Ecce apertus est thesaurus ckaritatis ceterncs!
Intra per vulnerum aperturam!"(l)
Will not such love open our heart with
its fiery flame, as did the lance the Heart of
Jesus, that tears of tender love, of grateful
love, may gush from it, which, mingling
(1) Stim. div. Am. PI. c.l.
Eleventh Day. 169
with His Blood and with His love, may per
fect in us the Saviour's Passion? It is this
return that Jesus expects from us: ff Ads-
picient ad quern confixerunt et dolebunt
super eum ut doleri solet in morte primo-
genti! — They shall look upon Me whom
they have pierced: and they shall mourn
for Him as one mourneth for an only son,
and they shall grieve over Him, as the man
ner is to grieve for the death of the first
born "(1).
One day, when Blessed Margaret Mary,
to overcome her natural repugnance, had
performed an heroic act toward a sick per
son seized with vomiting, Our Lord testified
the pleasure that she had afforded Him.
" The following night," she tells us, " for
about two or three hours, He kept my lips
pressed upon the Wound of His Sacred
Heart. It would be very hard to express
what I then experienced, or the effects that
favor produced in my soul and in my heart.''
REPARATION.
Sin, alas ! is at the root of the great fact
of the transfixion of the Sacred Heart,
(1) Zach. xii, 10.
170 The Eucharistic Heatt of Jesus.
which fact, however, Its love transforms
for us into benefit.
It was, indeed, a real crime on the part of
the soldier, who exhibited as much contempt
as ferocity toward the Divine Condemned.
Even while executing the orders of the
civilized rules of pagan Rome, it was his
own innate cruelty that urged the barbarous
soldier to deal as heavy a blow on the limbs
of the Saviour as upon those of the two
thieves. But finding Christ dead, he vented
his disappointment and rage by driving the
iron of his lance into His Heart. He was
fully aware of the uselessness of that proof
of the Saviour's death. He meant it as a
supreme insult to the Condemned upon
whom, from the very beginning of His Pas
sion, gratuitous outrages had been heaped,
to the exclusion of those guarantees by
which the law protects both the accused
and the condemned. He wished, moreover,
to please the High Priests who had hired
him, and whose imperious eyes were upon
him.
It was, however, the infinite malice of
our own sins that nerved the arm of the
soldier and urged him to commit the crime.
It exacted this expiation of the Holy Vic-
Eleventh Day. 171
tim, who willingly took upon Himself its
responsiblity. The seat of sin is, then, in
the heart of man, in the disorderly prefer
ence that he gives to the creature above the
Creator, in the outrageous abandonment in
which he leaves his God in order to give
Himself up to the depraved pleasures in
which he seeks his delight and happiness
instead of placing them in the Infinite Good.
Now, the Lord, who looks at the heart in
order to recompense the intention which
prompts the good action, pursues sin even
to its primitive source by striking that heart :
" Dominus intuetur cor — The Lord be-
holdeth the heart " (1). Let, then, the
Heart of this Man, this Substitute for all
mankind, His brethren, to pay their debt of
sin and to expiate its malice by submitting
to its chastisement, be struck and broken!
The divine wrath will be appeased only
when it can fall upon this Heart truly
broken by the most humiliating blows : " Ad
quern respiciam nisi ad pauper culum et con-
tritum spiritu? — To whom shall I have re
spect but to him that is poor and little and
of a contrite spirit? "(2) See, now, why the
(1) Reg. xvi, 7.
(2) Is. Ixvi, 2.
172 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Heart of Jesus which, during His whole
life, and still more during His agony in the
Garden, had been troubled and wounded by
a thousand spiritual swords of terror, sad
ness, disgust, deep humiliation, the treason
of the cold indifference of His own, and
lastly, by the pitiless abandonment of His
Father,— behold why It should be trans
pierced by the point of the lance. It was
the ransom of sin rated upon the human
heart.
The sword of grief, prolonging even to
ourselves the sharp point of the lance that
transpierced the Heart of Jesus, — will it
not cleave our hearts of granite and draw
from us tears of sorrow over the Innocent
One whom we have literally covered with
wounds? " Adspicient ad quern confix e-
runt et plangent planctu quasi super unigeni-
tum — They shall look upon him whom they
have pierced, and they shall grieve over him
as the manner is to grieve for the death of
the first-born "(1). But if, indifferent to the
chastisements that He once underwent for
us, we continue to strike Him daily new
blows, what will be our attitude when this
(1) Zach. xii, 10.
Eleventh Day. 173
Crucified Redeemer, coming in His majesty
in the clouds of heaven, shall display His
Wounds before the eyes of them that pierced
Him, without their being able to flee from
the terrible sight? " Ecce venit cum nubi-
bus et videbit eum omnis oculus et qui eum
pupugerunt — Behold He cometh with the
clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and
they also that piereced Him "(I.)- Then
will this open Wound, transformed into a
mouth of fury, cry for vengeance against
us, and will command the infernal flames,
penetrating and devouring, to torture us for
all eternity!
" One day," says Blessed Margaret Mary,
" it seemed to me that I heard the voice of
my Saviour, saying: 'My chosen people
persecute Me in secret, and they have irri
tated My justice. But I shall manifest
these secret sins by visible chastisements,
for I shall sift them in the sieve of My
sanctity, in order to separate them from My
well-beloved. Having separated them, I
shall surround them with that same sanc
tity, which comes between the sinner and
My mercy. And when My holiness has
(1) Apoc. i, 7.
13
174 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
once environed the sinner, it is impossible
for him to know himself. His conscience
continues without remorse, his understand
ing without light, his heart without contri
tion, and at last he dies in his blindness ! '
Discovering to me afterward His loving
Heart, all torn and transpierced with blows,
He said : ' Behold the wounds that I re
ceived from My chosen people! Others
were satisfied with striking My person, but
they have attacked My Heart, which has
never ceased to love them ! ' '
PETITION.
The fruits of the transfixion St. Bona-
venture shows in Christ transpierced
by the lance upon the Cross, " the
Tree of Life gashed in Its branches and in
Its Trunk : Ecce lignum vitae tarn in ramis
quam in stipite perforation." As they
pierce aromatic trees in order to gather
their precious liquor, so shall we gather in
our heart near the Divine Crucified by at
tentive, confident, and humble prayer, the
odoriferous oils of grace which flow from
the Wound of the Sacred Heart.
At first, it is the salutary bruising of the
heart, holy contrition, the frequenting of the
Eleventh Day. 175
piscina of Penance, filled with the waves of
lustral water that jet from the transpierced
Heart; then it is the holy habit of assidu
ously drinking from the Eucharistic Chalice
the virginal Blood, the repairing Blood,
whose last drops reddened as they fell to the
earth of Calvary, and reanimated for the
resurrection the bones, long dried up, of the
first sinners.
Later on, it is the knowledge of Jesus
Christ, of His mysteries, His love, His
spirit, gained by contact with His Heart. On
the morrow of the Resurrection, Thomas,
having lost faith and hope, had fallen into
discouragement, which led to denial and
apostasy. But he recognized Jesus, " his
Lord and his God," as soon as he had
plunged his hand through the Breast of the
Saviour into His open Heart, burning with
love and palpitating with tender pity. Let
us do the same. In our doubts, our cold
ness, our sadness and weakness, let us touch
the Heart of Jesus by a look of faith, a cry
of hope, a dart of love, an act of humility,
and we shall soon find our Saviour and our
God : " Do minus meus et Deus meus! "
Another fruit, in fine, is supernatural con
solation in our trials. This consolation ap-
176 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
plies the true remedy, which is composed of
the sufferings of Jesus, the most cruel and
the most numerous that can attack any heart
here below. In it He has mingled His
purity, His love, His strength, His humility,
His obedience, and His patience, with His
indefectible hope. Wounds against Wound!
Let our torn and broken hearts adapt them
selves by their very wounds to the Heart
of Jesus Christ so deeply transpierced. He
there pours out His virtues with the price
of His victories. There, above all, He pours
forth His love, and " love is strong as death
itself ! " Ah ! let us, then, cast our bruised
hearts into the Wound of the transpierced
Heart ! It is blindness or cruelty which in
duces them to come forth from It.
" There," says St. Bonaventure, " arc
found and dispensed all the balms that calm
and cure : Ecce aperta est apotheca omni
bus aroinatibus plena!" — "O blessed
lance," continues the holy Doctor, " had I
been in thy place, I should never have come
forth from the Bosom of Jesus! I should
have exclaimed: Behold the place of my
rest for endless ages! Here will I remain,
for it is the abode that I have chosen for
ever. O quam beata lancea! O si fuissem
Eleventh Day. 177
loco illius lanceae, exire de Chris ti latere
noluissem, sed dixissem: Haec requies mea
in saeculum saeculi; hie habitabo quoniam
elegl eam!"(l)
Once, when Blessed Margaret Mary was
experiencing great interior disquietude, it
seemed to her that she heard a voice con
stantly warning her that she was on the edge
of a precipice. With great confidence she
thus addressed Our Lord : " Thou only
Love of my soul, disclose to me the cause of
this disquietude ! " Our Lord, all covered
with woundsyimmediately presented Himself
to her soul, and bade her look upon the open
ing of His Sacred Side, which was a fathom
less abyss, dug by an immeasurable arrow,
namely, the dart of love. He told her that,
if she desired to escape the unknown abyss
which she dreaded, she must lose herself in
that by which all others are shunned; that
it was the abode of those that loved ; that in
it they found two lives, the one for the soul,
the other for the heart. The soul finds
therein the source of living water for its
purification ; the heart finds a furnace of love
which allows it to live no longer but by the
(1) Stim. Div. Am. P. I. c. 1.
178 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
life of love. The one sanctifies, the other
consumes." On another occasion, she tells
us, " My Divine Spouse gave me His Heart
for my asylum, my help, and my heavenly
resting-place in the tempests of this stormy
sea. It is my repose, my retreat, my
strength in my weakness. When I feel my
self laden with sufferings and sorrows
caused by the sanctity of His justice, which
reduces me to the point of death, He says to
me : ' Come, take some rest, that thou
mayest suffer more courageously ! ' I then
feel myself abyssed in this furnace of love
wherein I can think of nothing save loving
Him ! "
Make frequent spiritual Communions
during the day.
O Sweetest Heart of Jesus, I implore
That I may ever love Thee more and more.
(100 days' Indulgence.)
TTwelftb
THE SACRED HEART AND THE SORROWS OF
MARY.
SUBJECT. — The sufferings of the Heart of
Jesus during the Passion were innumerable.
They were not only those that sprang from
mental anguish and physical pain, but those
that He endured directly in His affections.
He suffered from the friends who betrayed
Him, forsook and denied Him, and, above
all, was He afflicted by the abandonment of
His Divine Father. But there was one
other pain not less acute, and that was the
presence of His most dear and beloved
Mother, Mary most holy ! If her presence
was an heroic act of fidelity and, viewing it
from this point, brought Him comfort and
consolation, the Saviour suffered infinitely
from the sight of the immense grief of the
most innocent of mothers, and from the
knowledge that He Himself was the cause
of it. The compassion of Mary, in which
was summed up all His own sufferings,
came only from the Passion of Jesus. If
179
180 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
we can affirm that the deepest wound in the
Heart of Jesus is that which was dug into
It by the abandonment of His Father, we
need not hesitate to declare that next to it
was the sorrow experienced at the sight of
His holy Mother at the foot of the Cross.
This subject, which so closely binds the
Heart of Jesus with the Heart of Mary, both
transpierced by the sword of the same sor
rows, can not be too frequently meditated
upon by souls truly devoted to the Sacred
Heart, if they desire to delve into Its pro
found secrets.
ADORATION.
" Stabat juxta crucem Jesu Mater ejus —
There stood by the Cross of Jesus His
Mother," sometimes a little nearer, some
times more removed, according as the surg
ing of the crowd around the Cross or the
caprice of the guards permitted. In either
position, she was so placed as to be seen by
Jesus : " Cum vidisset ergo Jesus Matrem
— When Jesus, therefore, had seen His
Mother "(1). He saw her with His bodily
eyes, and still more did He behold her with
the interior gaze of His filial Heart. In
(1) John xix.
Twelfth Day. 181
this double view, which enveloped Mary
and penetrated to the depths of her soul, He
saw the personification of sorrow the most
profound after His own. The Church, our
other Mother, so capable of comprehending
Mary's grief, depicts it in strophes of deep
compassion in the Stabat Mater, which we
can not read without emotion. She is " the
sorrowful Mother, plunged in tears at the
foot of the gibbet of her Son : " Dolorosa,
lacrymosa" (I) ; the soul weighed down
with sadness, wounded, groaning, trans
pierced with a sword : " Animam gemen-
tem, contristatem, dolentem" (%}. Ah, how
afflicted, how agonized was the Blessed
Mother of that only Son, that unique Son:
" O quam tristis et afflicta!"(3) Turning
to us, the Church exclaims :
" Quis est homo qui non Herd,
Matrem Christi si videret
In tanto supplicio! —
(1) Stabat Mater dolor osa,
Juxta crucem lacrymosa,
Dum pendebat Filius.
(2) Cujus animam gementem,
Constristatem et dolentem
Pcrtransivit gladius.
(3) O qua in tristis et aMicta
Fuit ilia benedicta
Mater Unigeniti!
14
182 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Who is the man who would not weep
at sight of the Mother of Jesus enduring
punishment so terrible?" If the most de
graded of men, the coarsest, the most hard
hearted, are challenged to gaze unmoved on
the untold sorrows of Mary, what impres
sion must they have produced upon her Son,
the most loving, the most sensitive, the most
delicate of all that have ever appreciated a
mother? It is His own Blood that thrills
and dries up in His Mother's heart, His own
tears that course hot or chill from her eyes.
He experiences all Mary's sorrow, deep,
wide, bitter as the sea, as if it were His
own. Mary's compassion is joined to His
own Passion to redouble its sharpness and
bitterness.
He saw her at the foot of the Cross as
the prophecy of Jeremias had described her
in terms that burst like sobs from a broken
heart : " Weeping she hath wept in the
night, and her tears are on her cheeks "
(the whole night of that terrible agony
which began in Gethsemani, and ended in
the horrible darkness of Calvary) ; " there
is none to comfort her among all them that
were dear to her; all her friends have de
spised her, and have become her
Twelfth Day. 183
enemies! "(1) John's fidelity cannot make
her forget the abandonment of all the others.
And it was prohibited Jesus by the avenging
anger of God to afford His Mother the least
relief, to say to her one word of pity or con
solation !
Still more, Jesus had to listen to these
sorrowful lamentations uttered by His
Mother : " O all ye that pass by the way,
attend and see if there be any sorrow like
my sorrow: for He hath made a vintage
of me, as the Lord spoke in the day of His
fierce anger. From above He hath sent fire
into my bones, and hath chastised me. He
hath spread a net for my feet, He hath
turned me back : He hath made me desolate,
wasted with sorrow all the day long. . . .
My strength is weakened : the Lord hath
delivered me into a hand out of which I am
not able to rise. Therefore do I weep, and
my eyes run down with tears, . . . be
cause my children are desolate, be
cause the enemy hath prevailed. . . .
Hear, I pray you, all ye people, and see my
sorrow : my virgins and my young men have
gone into captivity ! "(2) And his Mother
(1) Lam. i, 1-2.
(2) Ibid., 12-18.
184 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
who saw her Eldest-Born dying of sorrow
before her eyes, mourned all her other chil
dren buried in the more lamentable death of
sin.
In the excess of her anguish, Mary sent
forth to her Jesus a cry of agony : " Be
hold, O Lord, for I am distressed, my bowels
are troubled. My heart is turned within
me, for I am full of bitterness: abroad the
sword (Thy Cross) destroyeth and at home,
it is death alike " by the share that I take
in the sufferings of Thy Heart : " Foris in-
terficit gladius, et dorni mors similis
Behold what Jesus saw, what He heard!
Behold into what an abyss of pain, agony,
and darkness He was plunged by the anx
ious tenderness, the devoted affection,
the compassion of His Heart for the best of
Mothers ! Oh, what an increase of suffer
ing for this best of Sons ! Let it cease, O
Son, Thou who dost remain even in the
weakness of death, the All-Powerful ! Put
an end to the sufferings of Thy Mother!
Or, at least, console her by a word, a look,
an impression of relief in the depths of her
(1) Ibid, xx, 20.
Twelfth Day, 185
soul from Thy sovereign power, which
holds souls in its hand and acts in them as
it wills !
But no ! It had been decided in the coun
cil of inexorable justice that, in order to
drain the chalice of filial suffering to the
very dregs, Jesus should not say one word
of comfort, should not cast on her one look
of pity, one smile of encouragement. He
will see her weighed down without the
power of relieving her. He will be con
demned to the punishment of being able to
do nothing in time of affliction for the loved
one. And if, at last, He looks upon her
from the height of the Cross, if He speaks
to her, it is to pierce her soul with a word
sharper than the sword, the cruel nails, and
the lance that tore Him from her maternal
embrace. By robbing her of her own Son,
they gave her John in His place, who, after
all, was only a stranger, a sinner, — a man
instead of a God ! " Dicit matri siiae; Ecce
filius tuus!" Very far from lessening the
pain of His Mother, who was watching Him
die, that word of Jesus thrust the last sword
into her heart and, according to St. Ber
nard, "Plus quam Martyrem non immerito
prae die emus, made Mary a martyr and the
Queen of Martyrs."
18G The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
But to this sorrow of seeing His Mother
suffer without His permitting Himself to do
anything for her relief, there is for the
Heart of Jesus a pain still more cruel, still
more harrowing, and that is, to know with
out doubt that He is the cause, the only
cause of her suffering. It is most true to
say that Mary suffered only on account of
Jesus and His pains, which she shared with
Him without reserve. The Passion of
Jesus gave rise to all the compassion of
Mary. The Passion was the cause, the in
strument, and the measure of her compas
sion. It is not on record, indeed, that,
during the Passion, Mary had to endure any
insult or brutal treatment on the part of the
judges, the executioners, or the crowd. Her
grave and humble modesty, the extreme de
jection of her sorrow enveloped her with a
kind of sacred protection, even in the sight
of those monsters of hatred and that furious
multitude athirst for blood. All her sor
row came to her, then, from the suffering
of her Son. This strange law, that Jesus
would be her mortal torment was revealed to
Mary as soon as she presented Him in the
Temple, in the joy of her glorious maternity,
" Behold, this Child is set for the fall, and
Twelfth Day. 137
for the resurrection of many in Israel, and
for a sign which shall be contradicted. And
thy own soul a sword shall pierce." Mary
had lived so closely, so constantly united to
her Son, that her soul never ceased to en
velop Him, so that the sword, insults, con
demnation, blows, nails, death itself could
attack Jesus only by passing through the
soul of His Mother. It was not only by the
sentiment of compassion that she partici
pated in the Passion of Jesus. She was
present corporally, for she had the courage
to follow Him everywhere, from Geth-
semani to Calvary, passing through the
praetorium, keeping as close as possible to
Him, walking in the tracks of His Blood
and literally following His footsteps. Her
presence at the foot of the Cross authenti
cates by the Gospel her meeting with Him
on the dolorous way, and gives us an assur
ance of this fact consecrated by tradition.
And is it not the same fact that is still re
called by the touching and graphic lamenta
tion of the Stabat?
In the Garden, Mary was witness to the
Agony of her Son. She shared the terror,
the sadness, the languor, the bitterness that
inundated His Soul and dragged Him down
188 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
to the gates of death. She heard Him
vainly entreating His Father to remove
from Him the chalice filled with the wine
of His wrath. She saw Him covered with
the sweat of His own Blood, going to seek
from His Apostles a little drop of comfort,
but which was denied Him by their torpid
indifference. Her intimate union in those
pains, which she would have been so happy
to sweeten by her maternal tenderness,
caused her inexpressible " torment and
agony : "
" Quae mcerebat et dolebat
Pia mater dum videbat
Nati panas inclyti! "
She followed Him from tribunal to
tribunal, heard Him accused of crimes by
false witnesses, and condemned as an
avowed criminal by the hatred or cowardice
of the iniquitous judges ; then she assists at
the horrible torments of the flagellation and
the crowning with thorns. She revealed to
St. Bridget that her veil had been stained
with the drops of blood which spouted from
the flesh of her Well-Beloved under the
violent blows of the scourge:
Twelfth Day. 189
" Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Jesus in tormentis,
Et flagellis subditum!"
Lastly, she was at the foot of the Cross,
where Jesus endured for three hours the
cruel throes of His last agony. She as
sisted at His desolate death, amid the curses
and mockery of men and the inexorable
abandonment of His Divine Father, and she
heard Him draw His last sigh while utter
ing a loud cry of pain. That death, which
freed the Son from His agony, redoubled
that of the Mother; and when she received
Him into her arms dead, lacerated, dis
figured, covered with clotted blood, her
martyrdom was at its height :
" Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriendo desolatum,
Dum emisit spiritum!"
Jesus, Jesus, then, is the cause, the whole
cause of Mary's suffering. No sword
pierced Jesus without turning its point upon
Mary, also. ' The dolors of Mary," writes
Father Faber, " all come from the presence
of Jesus; they were the point of contact
between the Heart of Jesus and the Heart
of Mary. He Himself was the cause of her
1 90 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
woe. He poured at every instant from His
own Soul into hers, every insult, every pain,
every outrage, every indignity. It was He
who extended His Mother's members upon
the instrument of torture ; it was He who
spread around her the dreariest darkness.
It was He alone who caused her to endure
all these woes. Without Jesus, Mary would
not have had any sorrows to endure ; but
for her heart, the best loved of all by Him,
He was a fiery cross. And then, all the im
mense bitterness that He poured from His
own Heart into Mary's, He received again
into His, but without relieving Mary. It
entered into the Heart of Jesus like another
Passion. Thus the compassion of Mary
flowed from the Passion and returned to it.
Between the two there was identity rather
than union."
O ye who comprehend in some degree
the dolors of Mary, see, understand and
adore the truth, the depth, and the extent
of the wound that they dug in the Heart of
her Son, who saw them without having per
mission to relieve them, and who had re
ceived from the dread justice of His Father
the command to inflict them. Adore in
amazement and compassion. When yon
Twelfth Day. 191
shall have comprehended the reasons for
this strange punishment, caused to the
Mother by the Son, and falling back with
double force from the Mother upon the Son,
you will bless the love which for you has not
hesitated to impose it on both the one and
the other!
THANKSGIVING.
God the Father demanded this terrible
suffering, and Jesus embraced it " in order to
suffer more," says a profound commentator
of the Holy Scriptures : " Voluit hoc Chris-
tus ut magis pateretur!" To suffer in His
filial tenderness, to assume the odious ap
pearance of a heartless Son, to suffer from
her faithful and constant presence as He
did from the absence of the friends that
had abandoned Him, to endure, in reality,
two Passions — His own and that of His
Mother — this was the aim of Jesus in
Mary's dolors. " In olden times," says an
ancient author, " it was not lawful to im
molate a sheep on the day they had taken
away its lamb, but Thou, O God, O Father,
didst sacrifice on the same day the Son with
the Mother! The love they have for each
other is the executioner that carries out Thy
192 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
sentence ; and that nothing may be wanting
to their sorrow, they are tormented at the
sight of each other. Blessed forever be the
excess of Thy mercy toward sinners ! " The
sufferings so generously embraced by the
Son of God prove the measure of His love
for us ; the excess of His Passion reveals to
us the excess of His love !
REPARATION.
Jesus willed to endure the pain of making
His mother suffer the most genuine sorrows
and weep the holiest tears, in order to ex
piate the sins committed by children against
the duties of filial devotedness, by children
who cause their poor mothers scalding
tears. Without having been a bad child, who
is he who, at certain times, has not saddened
his mother by his caprices, his pride, or his
idleness? But how numerous the children
who, by their ingratitude and disobedience,
their precocious impiety and immorality,
by the danger of eternal death which they in
cur and in which they remain, bow down the
aged head of their mother under the weight
of dishonor, torture her tender heart with
mortal anguish and inconsolable desolation.
Insensible to the grief, the tears, the sighs
Twelfth Day. 193
of those gentle and loving mothers, treading
under foot the law of nature and the pre
cept of the Lord : " Gemitus matris suae ne
obliviscaris — Forget not the groanings
of thy mother "(1), they bring upon them
premature old age and hurry them to the
tomb.
O Christ, the best, the most obedient, and
the most loving of sons, expiate the crime of
these parricides, and endure in Thy filial love
the sufferings Thou dost impose on Thy vir
ginal Mother !
Hear, again, the lamentation of that other
Mother, the Holy Church, who weeps over
the ingratitude and disobedience of so many
of her children who pitilessly persecute her.
To repair this new crime, O Jesus, sacrifice,
immolate Thy Heart under the wine-press
of the dolors of Thy own Mother, which
flow back upon Thee !
PETITION.
Jesus confronted this heartfelt sorrow to
sustain by His example the courage of those
children upon whom God imposes duties and
from whom He demands sacrifices which
(1) Eccles. vii, 29.
194 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
cannot be made without causing great
anguish to their mothers.
It is not ingratitude that in such cases
makes tears course down the cheeks of those
mothers so loved and venerated ; it is the
superior right of divine love to which, when
it pleases God, every other love, however
legitimate, must be sacrificed. Jesus, when
a Child, did not hesitate to leave His Mother
in tears and disquietude when His Divine
Father, in order to affirm His sovereign
rights, commanded Him to do so without
saying adieu. Nor did He hesitate to ex
pose her to the horrible tempest of His Pas
sion, although He might so easily have
closed her eyes as He did St. Joseph's, be
fore casting Himself into that ocean of suf
fering. Jesus acted thus in order to give to
children who are, by duty to their country,
a religious vocation, or the call to the apos-
tolate, obliged to leave their mother. If
their heart shrinks, if the tears of one so
venerated weaken their resolution and
tempt them to recoil, let them look upon this
admirable Son who immolated His Mother
to the glory of God and the salvation of the
world. That glance will strengthen them to
Twelfth Day. 195
accomplish their sacrifice, will fortify them
against after-thoughts of tender regret.
To gain precious fruits from this- mystery,
let us take the following resolutions, while
earnestly begging the Son by the Mother of
Sorrows for the grace to know how to ac
cept and suffer pain, whatsoever it may be,
without distinction or reserve: patiently to
behold our loved ones suffer, although we
would be rejoiced to suffer in their stead ; to
accept cheerfully what those we most love
make us suffer; willingly (and this is the
most painful of all to a loving heart) to be
a cause of suffering, should it so please God,
to our loved ones when we would wish most
to be a consolation to them. Yes, we must
even be willing, voluntarily and un
shrinkingly, to inflict pain on them when
some supernatural good or the welfare of
their souls calls for it.
O Christ Jesus, perfect Son of Mary,
and Model of all good children, Thou who
didst love us even to sacrificing Thy own
Mother, be Thou forever blessed! Be
Thou loved and served by the total sacri
fice of all that we hold most dear, if it
should please Thee to demand it of us ! I
press my lips to the Wound opened in Thy
196 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Heart by Thy love for Mary, desiring to
find therein with the strength never to re
fuse Thee anything, the balm necessary to
dress the wounds that the sacrifice of its
dearest loves may open in my heart!
We read in Blessed Margaret MaryV,
Revelations of the Sacred Heart: "One
Friday, during Holy Mass, I felt a great de
sire to honor the sufferings of my Cruci
fied Spouse. He told me lovingly that He
wanted me to come every Friday to adore
Him thirty:three times on the tree of the
Cross, which is the throne of His mercy. I
was to prostrate at His feet and endeavor to
enter into the same dispositions in which
was the Blessed Virgin at the time of the
Passion, offering it all to the Eternal
Father with the sufferings of His Divine
Son for the conversion of hardened hearts.
To those who had been faithful to this prac
tice, Jesus promised to be favorable at the
hour of death."
Pray for vocations to the priesthood.
O Mary most sorrowful, Mother of all
Christians, pray for us.
(300 days' Indulgence.)
TTbirtecntb Dap
THE SACRED HEART IN THE RESURRECTION.
ADORATION.
SUBJECT. — The Divine Master pointed
out His Heart to men in the different states
of His mortal life as the source of the love
that He testifies toward them in every one
of those states, and as the centre in which
they should seek Him if they would every
where find and taste Him. " Come to Me
and learn of Me that I am meek and humble
of Heart," did He say to those sheep with
out a shepherd, to the heavily burdened.
" Abide in Me, abide in My love," did He
say when He made Himself a Sacrament,
when He drew St. John to His Heart. He
willed that a soldier should with a thrust of
his lance open His side on the Cross, to
show to the world in His open Heart the
love that had led Him to embrace death for
its redemption. To inaugurate the immor
tal life that He was henceforth to lead to the
end of time in our tabernacles and for all
eternity in heaven, He called upon Thomas
197
198 The Rucharistic Heart of Jesus.
to plunge his hand into His side: "After
manum tuam, et mitte in latus meum —
Bring hither thy hand, and put it into My
side/' that we might know by contact with
His Heart in Its new life that He is always
our Lord and our God. In His resuscitated
life as in His death, He was consecrating to
our welfare the treasures of His glorified
Heart, as He had poured out for our bene
fit all the devotedness of His mortal Heart.
The various manifestations of the Sacred
Heart during the days that our risen Sav
iour passed upon earth after the Resurrec
tion, will form the subject of this Adora
tion.
While the Body of Jesus, wrapped in the
winding-sheet, lay motionless in the tomb,
His Divinity, which was never separated
from the Humanity even in death, com
missioned the most glorious of the angels
to gather up in golden cups the drops of
sacred Blood scattered over the wide battle
field on which the intrepid Christ had com
bated. Those angelic messengers bore it
with the deepest respect to the source
whence it had issued, to the Sacred Heart,
pierced, broken, lifeless. For three days it
rested before resuming new life, the just
Thirteenth Day. 199
recompense of Its holy and magnanimous
death. At the moment of the Resurrection,
the Soul of the Saviour, ending Its benefi
cent visit to the patriarchs of limbo,
touched with Its radiant wing the pale coun
tenance of the Christ in His sleep of death
and, ardent and joyous, united Itself for
ever to that Body, so pure and so worthy of
It, and from which It should never have
been separated. At that touch of intense
power, the Heart of Christ awoke and, with
an impetuous rush, propelled into the ar
teries the Blood that filled It. Then began
the joyous and rhythmic pulsation of the
glorious life by which the First-Born of
the Resurrection was to live eternally.
Nothing henceforth could trouble the un
alterable joy of this Heart, no power what
ever could dim Its glory, no more painful
and ignominious effusion of Its Blood.
Peace, light, beatitude unending were to be
Its portion. The life that it poured into the
members of the Saviour was safe from every
attack, secure against the ravages of decrepi
tude, raised above the laws of matter, inde
pendent of every created cause, and endued
with all the prerogatives of the spiritual
life. The Heart of the First-Born among
200 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the victors over death, It became the centre
of every resurrection for souls purchased to
the life of grace, for all that enter into the
life of glory, as well as for the body
snatched from the dust of the tomb and es
tablished in incorruptible life. It is the
living and luminous source, from which all
souls thirsting for unruffled peace, pure joy,
and eternal happiness, shall come to draw,
to slake their thirst, and to be inebriated
without ever exhausting It: Haurietis
aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris (1).
THANKSGIVING.
Goodness is the principal motive for
gratitude. In no other phase of His life
did the Saviour more tenderly manifest His
goodness than in His Resurrection. The
spirit that this mystery inspires is, also, one
of joy, happiness, and thanksgiving.
Christ shows that glory has not changed
His Heart, as it too often happens among
men. His goodness shines forth in His
eagerness to show Himself to His own, to
multiply His apparitions to them, and to
allow Himself to be touched by them:
" Videte et palpate!— Handle and see!"
(1) Is, xii, 3.
Thirteenth Day. 201
His goodness speaks in His words of peace,
repeated insistently: " Pax vobis! Iterum
dico, Pax vobis! — Peace to you! Again T
say, Peace to you ! " It was His conde
scending goodness that made Him return
to the Cenacle, urged by the challenge of in
credulous Thomas, in order to impart to
him the Holy Spirit, which he had not re
ceived with his fellow-disciples.
What familiarity, what goodness on the
shore of the sea of Tiberias ! " Pueri num-
quid pulmentarium habetis? — Children,
have you any meat? Cast the net on the
right ! " And He had Himself lighted the
coals upon which was broiling a fine fish,
which He blessed, distributed, and ate with
them: " Accepit panem et piscem simili-
ter." — It is His goodness that consoles the
weeping Magdalen : " Woman, why weep-
est thou ? " " They have taken away my
Lord!" "Mary!" " Rabboni, O my
Master ! "
It was the compassionate goodness of
Jesus that encouraged, enlightened, and
strengthened the disciples of Emmaus. He
explained to them the Scriptures that an
nounced and justified His death. He re-
vived their fainting hearts with the breath
202 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
of His convincing proofs. He deigned to
accept their hospitality and, reversing the
roles, became their host. He fed them with
" Bread blessed and broken," with that mar
vellous Eucharist which they had tasted
three days before, and He sent them away
full of faith and zeal on their mission of
witnesses and Apostles.
REPARATION.
The very mysteries which glory illumines
most with its splendors and replenishes with
holy joy, are mingled with sadness, become
overcast when in contact with sinful man.
They have to amend and purify, hence, the
necessity for reparation. In the effusions
of Its Paschal joys, therefore, the Sacred
Heart feels Itself obliged to inspire the Sav
iour with remonstrances and reproaches. It
inveighs, above all, against the weak and
wavering faith of Its own followers, and
against the discouragement resulting from
it, and which may easily lead to infidelity
and apostasy.
On account of their ignorance, which had
not comprehended the Saviour's teachings,
and their groundless distrust of His good
ness, the Apostles were, more or less, a
Thirteenth Day. 203
prey to the terrible evil of incredulity. In
vain had Jesus announced to them on several
occasions His Passion, Death, and Resur
rection, and proved that they had been fore
told by the prophets. On the very day after
the event, they remembered not that the
Scriptures declared His Resurrection cer
tain. The holy women, sent to them first
by the angel, then by the Saviour Himself,
talked foolishly, as they thought, when an
nouncing His Resurrection, and they re
fused to believe. Even in the presence of
their risen Lord, they hesitated and feared
being deceived. Still more, after the re
peated apparitions in the Cenacle, they
failed to recognize Him when He appeared
on the shores of Tiberias. It was only the
more refined perceptions of John that made
Him known to Peter and the other disciples :
" Dominus est — It is the Lord ! "
Such incredulity outraged the Saviour's
veracity, and wounded still more His Heart.
Indignation, as well as sorrow, may be
traced in the reproaches that Jesus made to
them. " O foolish and slow of heart to be
lieve in all things which the prophets have
spoken," did He say to the disciples when,
in doubt and despondency, they were mak-
204 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
ing their way to Emmaus. " Know ye not
that Christ had to suffer these things, and
so to enter into His glory ? " When He ap
peared to the Eleven as they were at table,
He " upbraided them with their incredulity
and hardness of heart, because they did not
believe them who had seen Him after He has
risen — Ex probravit incredulitatem et duri-
tiam cordis."
Oh, how difficult it is to obtain and to
preserve faith, though so necessary ! When
recommending to Thomas to be no longer
faithless, but believing, the Saviour, to exalt
the merit of faith, made use of these words :
" Beati qui non viderunt et crediderunt!
—Blessed are they that have not seen, and
have believed ! "
PETITION.
The Resurrection, in retaining the open
Wound of the Sacred Side, reveals the
Heart of the Priest who prays, of the
Apostle who evangelizes, of the Father who
remains ever in the midst of His children
to protect them.
" Behold, I go to My Father, to My God,"
said the Saviour. In these words, He made
known the ministry of all-powerful media-
Thirteenth Day. 205
tion that He was to exercise as the eternal
High-Priest in behalf of the world. He is
ever standing before the Father, showing
Him His Wounds, which tell of His Pas
sion and His victory, and appealing to Him
without intermission to grant us all the
fruits of His Resurrection.
His Heart is overflowing with pity and
inflamed with ardent, apostolic zeal for
souls. He must shed light upon the whole
earth, and carry salvation to mankind, held
by Satan in the chains of death. To His
Apostles on the little hill in Galilee, which
He had assigned to them as a rendezvous,
He said : " All power is given me in heaven
and on earth. Going, therefore, teach ye all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you."
But His Heart is that of a father toward
the family which He Himself has gathered
together, and which He wishes to multiply
indefinitely. He knows that the father's
presence is indispensable to the children,
that he it is who must provide them with
food and protection. At no cost will He
leave them orphans, so giving to heaven His
206 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
human Presence, He gives us His Eucha
ristic Presence by the solemn words of an
inviolable testament : " Wheresoever you
go to preach My Gospel, I am with you all
days, even to the consummation of the
world."
•
Pray that the pious custom of frequent
and daily Communion may increase among
children.
St. Joseph, model and patron of those
who love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray
for us.
(100 days' Indulgence.)
jfourtcentb
THE SACRED HEART ABIDING IN THE EUCHA-
RISTIC PRESENCE.
ADORATION.
" Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus
Salvatoris — You shall draw waters with joy
out of the Saviour's fountains " (1).
Now, this life, this joy and glory with
which It was replenished in the Resurrec
tion, the Sacred Heart is burning to shed
around, by revealing Itself to the world
and communicating to it unreservedly. It
impelled the Saviour to go to the Cenacle
where, uncertain and fearful, were gathered
the disciples whose faith had received so
rude a shock from the grievous defeat in
flicted on Him by His enemies. In spite
of the closed doors, He entered, and His ap
parition, like a phantom before their
troubled eyes, only increased the terror of
their souls. But He, in that sweet and com
manding voice which calmed tempests
and gained hearts, uttered the words:
(1) IS. xii, 3
208
The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
" Peace be to you ! " At the sound, their
faces brightened, and their hearts grew light.
But wishing to strengthen their peace
against vicissitudes and establish it on un
shaken faith and confidence, He turned to
Thomas, still incredulous concerning the
Resurrection. Earnestly and tenderly He
said to him : " Put in thy finger hither, and
see My hands, and put it into My side ; and
be not faithless, but believing:— Affer
manum tuam et mitte in latus meum!"
Come, draw near, do not fear! Touch,
handle, thrust thy finger into these Wounds
of My hands and see whether they are not
the hands of a living man. Place thy hand
into the wide Wound of My Heart, plunge
it in, draw it out, put it in again, and feel
around in it! Go deep into My Heart,
wounded from side to side. Feel Its pulsa
tions. It is living and glowing. Feel the
warmth of the Blood that dilates It, the
strength of the movement that makes It rise
and fall, the ardor of the love that consumes
It. Ah! say, is it not the Heart of the
Messiah who has called you, of the Friend
who has loved you, of the Brother with
whom you have lived, of the Priest who has
fed you with His own consecrated Flesh, of
Fourteenth Day. 209
the God whom miracles have proved to you,
of the Sovereign Master to whom you have
given yourself? Can you not henceforth
believe firmly that it is I, I whom you have
seen die, I whom you behold risen again?
"Noli esse incredulus, sed Udells — Be not
faithless, but believing-."
o
And Thomas, his hand in the Heart which
is beating with immortal life, with the joy of
meeting those whom It loves so much, with
tender condescension toward the rashness of
Its incredulous disciple, — Thomas enlight
ened, won, subdued, — Thomas in a rapture
of gratitude, confessed his faith, adored, and
rendered homage to Christ risen : " Domi-
nus meus et Dens meus! My Lord and my
God ! " The touch of the Sacred Heart re
vealed to him the truth of Jesus' Humanity,
the truth of His new life, of His personal
identity, His victory over death, His glory,
His Divinity, and His love for men. All
this in the splendors of His Resurrection re
mains what it was in the humility of His
mortal life : " Dominus meus et Deus
meus ! "
It is this resuscitated Heart, glorious and
immortal, which beats in the breast of the
Eucharistic Christ under the veils of ma-
210 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
terial signs, which conceal His splendor. If
you desire that your faith should taste the
joy of certitude and be enlightened with the
clear light of vision so far as to confess your
Lord and your God, enter, penetrate, plunge
your hand into His Heart, which is still
open, and which has been calling you for
twenty centuries ! It is His Heart that re
veals the Presence, the life, and the love of
the Christ of the Sacrament: " Dominus
meus et Deus meus!"
" One day," said Blessed Margaret Mary,
" when the Blessed Sacrament was exposed,
Jesus Christ, my good Master, presented
Himself to me brilliant with glory, His five
Wounds shining like so many suns. Flames
shot forth on all sides from His Sacred
Humanity, above all, from His adorable
Breast, which looked like a furnace. Open
ing It, He showed me His Divine Heart,
the living source of those flames. It was
then that He discovered to me the inexplic
able marvels of His pure love and to what an
excess it had led Him in His love for man."
THANKSGIVING.
It was Jesus' merciful and delicate good
ness that, without making any painful al-
Fourteenth Day. 211
lusion to it, raised up Peter after his triple
denial. He simply demanded of him in the
presence of those that he had scandalized,
three acts of love, after which He confirmed
him in his charge of universal pastor:
" Petre, diligis me plus his? Pasce agnos,
pasce oves— Peter, lovest thou Me? Feed
My sheep, feed My lambs."
It is the generous goodness of Jesus
which is satisfied only when making others
happy, shedding joy into hearts, and caus
ing them to forget all sadness : " Gavisi
sunt discipuli, viso Domino— The disciples
were glad when they saw the Lord." He
goes to meet the faithful, but disquieted,
women with the words: " Avete, nolite
timere—All hail! Fear not." And He al
lowed them in their joyful emotion to cast
themselves at His glorified feet, and cover
them with their pious kisses. The Church
forever resounds with the echoes of the pure
joy with which He replenished the heart of
His Mother when, like a loving son, He
pressed her to His Heart, making her taste
as much happiness as she had experienced
bitterness: " Regina coeli, laetare, quia
quern meruisti par tare, resurrexit sicut dixit,
alleluia!— O Queen of heaven, rejoice, be-
212 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
cause He whom thou didst deserve to bear,
has risen as He said, Alleluia ! "
^ "Once," says Blessed Margaret Mary,
when I had retired into a little corner to
be nearer the Blessed Sacrament, the ador
able Heart of my Jesus was presented to me
more brilliant than a sun. It was in the
midst of the flames of Its pure love, and
surrounded by seraphim, who sang in won
derful harmony:
Love triumphs, love possesses,
The love of the Heart of Jesus rejoices !
These blessed spirits invited me to unite
with them in magnifying this amiable Heart.
and to render It an unending homage of love
and praise."
REPARATION.
But if His most merciful Heart dictated
to the unrecognized Saviour the necessary
reprimands, It did not fail to incline Him
to pardon the guilty and apply a remedy to
their faults. It was in one of those con
soling visits of the Resurrection that He in
stituted the Sacrament of mercy, through
whose all-powerful action every sin will be
remitted to them who humbly accuse them-
Fourteenth Day. 213
selves. The breath of pardon which will
pass with the Holy Spirit over guilty souls
to purify them from sin and lead them back
to the divine life, will first have issued from
the Sacred Heart, victorious by the Resur
rection over sin and its principal causes,
Satan and the world. " He breathed upon
them, and He said to them : Receive ye the
Holy Ghost. Whose sins ye shall forgive,
they are forgiven them ; and whose sins ye
shall retain, they are retained."
Let us, then, make reparation for all our
incredulity of mind, of heart and deed
toward Christ risen from the tomb, and who
appears to us constantly under the accidents
of the Sacrament. Appearances are deceit
ful ; but he who accepts in all their fulness
the Eucharistic words, shall never feel his
faith and confidence grow weak, ' This is
My Body, this is My Blood ! " If it is the
human Body of Jesus, it must be animated
by a human Soul, for life necessarily results
from the union of soul and body. Now, as
the Humanity of the Saviour existed only
to be borne and deified by the Person of the
Word, this Body, this Soul, this Blood are
those of a God. The Eucharist is, there
fore the Word Incarnate, Christ resusci-
214 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
tated and living under the appearance of
bread. As no obligation retains Him under
the abject bonds of the Sacrament excepting
His own Heart, that is, His love, it follows
that the Eucharist is Christ loving as well
as Christ living. Lord, guard, increase,
strengthen ever my faith in Thy Heart,
give me light indefectible which enlighten?
the abysses of the mystery of Thy Eucha
rist!
Our incredulity, our forgetfulness, our
diffidence and discouragement, are felt very
keenly by the Saviour in this Sacrament of
life and love. Like thorns constantly
driven into His Heart they wound Him.
Like a new Cross laid on His shoulders,
they crush Him.
" One day," says Blessed Margaret Mary,
"this Divine Heart was shown me on a
throne of fire and flames, shooting out rays
on all sides more brilliant than the sun and
transparent as crystal. The Wound that
It had received on the Cross appeared in It.
A crown of thorns surrounded the Divine
Heart, and It was surmounted by a Cross.
My Divine Master gave me to understand
that these instruments of His Passion signi
fied all the outrages to which His love for
Fourteenth Day. 215
men would expose Him in the Holy Eucha
rist to the end of time."
PETITION.
The glorified Heart of the risen Christ,
without abandoning us, consecrates to us in
the Sacrament, which preserves Him for us
present and living, His immortal life, His
devoted love, His most pure joys, His un
tiring solicitude, His uninterrupted prayers
and Sacrifice, the daily Bread, and His in
vincible protection. All this is secured to
those that believe in Him and invoke Him
with firm confidence. Let us pray, then,
through the Heart of the risen Christ. Let
us obtain resurrection for all who are dear
to us, but whom sin holds in the thraldom
of death. Let us, above all, obtain the
resurrection of Christian France. To it was
revealed the victorious Heart for the cure of
its mortal evils and to restore to it, with the
plenitude of Christian life, the power of a
world-wide apostolate.
" What happiness for us," wrote Blessed
Margaret Mary, " and for those that help to
make the Sacred Heart known, loved, and
glorified! They will draw down upon them
selves the friendship and eternal benediction
216 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
of the loving Heart of Jesus, and obtain a
powerful Protector for our country. No
less a power is necessary to appease the bit
terness and severity of the just wrath of God
for so many crimes. I hope that this
Divine Heart will become an abundant and
inexhaustible source of mercy and grace, as
It has promised me."
Pray for the intentions of our Holy
Father, Pope Pius X.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, let thy Kingdom
come !
(300 days' Indulgence.)
ffifteentb
THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF THE SACRED HEART.
" Unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit,
et continue exivit Sanguis et aqua."
LET us fix our eyes on the Heart of the
Saviour, opened by the lance of the soldier
on Calvary, whence flowed the last streams
of the redeeming Blood. Let us gaze upon
this Heart always open in the Eucharist,
laving and cleansing souls, and fertilizing
the field of the Church with its inexhaustible
fountains. Let us render to It our service
of adoration, gratitude, compassion, and
prayer for the sublime destiny which God
has given It, for the powerful, beneficent,
and loving office that It exercises for the
glory of the Father and for our salvation
by containing and pouring forth the most
Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
" Behold the Heart that has so loved men,
that has spared Itself in nothing, that has
exhausted Itself, in order to prove to them
Its love! " (Words of Our Lord to Blessed
Margaret Mary.)
217
218 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
ADORATION.
" Hie est calix Sanguinis Mei: This is the
chalice of My Blood."
Such were Jesus' words when presenting
to His own the golden cup of His Precious
Blood, which He had substituted for the
substance of the wine, though retaining the
ruddy appearance of the grape, in order not
to shock our fastidiousness. Ah ! I know a
chalice made of material more precious than
gold, enriched with the rarest stones, shin
ing with a far purer brilliancy, a chalice not
formed by the hand of man, a chalice living
and loving, holy and sanctifying, a chalice
which contains the adorable Blood of Jesus
in its reality, in its life, in its constant and
indefatigable action — that chalice is the
thrice-holy Heart !
I adore that Heart as the furnace in which
the Blood of the Son of God was elaborated
during the time of His human life, as the
reservoir in which it is preserved, as the un
failing source from which it is shed abroad,
as the centre to which it incessantly returns
only to pour itself out again ! I adore that
Heart of the First-Born of mankind con
demned to death, as the immaculate vase,
Fifteenth Day. 219,
fragile and passible, whence flowed all the
Blood that was shed through the wounded
members of the Saviour, and which was It
self broken by a last blow, that Its remain
ing drops might be shed for the salvation of
the world ! I adore that Heart of the First-
Born of the Resurrection, impassible and
immortal, overflowing with the unalloyed
joys of beatitude, and offering to the
ravished adoration of the elect the victorious
Blood that had purchased them from death !
Lastly, I adore It, still the incorruptible
vase, but concealed under the material ap
pearance of the Sacrament, blending the
semblance of death and humiliation with the
realities of life and glory, in order to send
up to God from the depths of this earth of
sin and indigence the atonement that He ex
pects from it, to pour out unceasingly upon
mankind during the hardships of their
earthly pilgrimage the elixir of eternal
life, and to have always in readiness for
them the bath which cleanses from every
stain.
I adore in the Eucharistic Heart of My
Saviour His true and real Blood in its per
fect and incorruptible purity. I adore it in
its life independent of every exterior cause,
220 The Eu char is tic Heart of Jesus.
rising above time, its vicissitndes and its
decay. I believe in its inestimable price,
which renders it worthy of the adoration
that angels and men give to God Himself.
Why do I believe in its worth? I believe,
because it was formed of the purest drops
of the Virgin-Mother's blood, carefully
selected by the Holy Spirit Himself. I be
lieve, because it has become the Blood the
most exquisite, the purest, the most quicken
ing, and the most worthy of existing among
all the children of men. I believe, because
it was taken by the Word as His own Blood,
penetrated by the Divinity even to its least
globules and substantially deified. I be
lieve, because it has been enriched by all the
virtues of the Holy One of God, by actions
to which it has lent its faithful and gener
ous concurrence, by sufferings that consum
mated its perfection, and by all the merits
of the triumphant Resurrection which rec
ompensed them.
O Heart of infinite love, Thou didst ap
pear environed with flames when Thou
didst shake off the dust of the sacramental
state in order to reveal Thyself in our day !
I adore Thee as the inextinguishable fur
nace in which the Blood of Mv Saviour boils
Fifteenth Day. 221
tip with glowing fervor, and whence it
flows in burning wave to enkindle in all
hearts the fire of its love! I adore Thy
Blood consumed by Uncreated Love which
eternally desired it, and which takes in it
infinite complacency. I adore Thy Blood
consumed by all the sacred loves that the
Holy Spirit enkindled therein at the mo
ment of its formation, which were in
creased by the wind of contradiction, and
which reached their height in the sufferings
of the Passion ! I adore Thy Blood, de
voured with the hot breath of longing, of
hunger, and thirst to be loved in its Sacra
ment which allows it no repose!
Lastly, O Jesus, in absolute dependence
and obedience, I adore the sovereign rights
of Thy Blood over me, for it is the Blood
of my Creator, of my Redeemer, of my
Sanctifier. It is the Blood that will judge
me for eternity! I acknowledge the ab
solute necessity that I have of it for I know
that without it, there is no salvation for me.
I know that it is the indispensable condition
of my life, and that, if I do not nourish my
self assiduously with it, eternal death will
be my portion. I accept the infallible word
coming forth from Thy lips, which it em-
2%2 The Eucharist ic Heart of Jesus.
purples: "Nisi . . . biberitis ejus
Sanguinem, non habebitis vitam in vobis!
Except . . . you drink His Blood, you
shall not have life in you " (1).
THANKSGIVING.
" Hie est Sanguis meus qui pro multis ef-
fundetur: — This is My Blood which shall
be shed for many" (2).
The term shedding, pouring out, by which
the Divine Master designates the gift that
He makes to us of His Precious Blood, does,
indeed, well express the powerful streams,
the perpetual diffusion, the universal inun
dation of His Blood. The showers of
spring and autumn do not fall more abund
antly from the skies, the rivulets do not gush
more quickly from their source, the torrents
do not rush more impetuously down the
mountain side, the seas do not extend fur
ther their broad expanse of waters, than
flows the Precious Blood from the Heart of
Jesus under the impulse of Its love.
The Heart of Jesus is the only source
whence originate those streams of purity,
of life, and of consolation, carried forth by
(1) John vi, 54.
(2) Matt, xxvi, 28.
Fifteenth Day. 223
the Precious Blood: " Haurietis aquas in
gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris: — You shall
draw waters with joy out of the Saviour's
fountains." He who has received under
what form soever, one of those gifts of
grace, which are all tiny portions of the In
finite Good, has drawn from the Sacred
Heart a drop of the Precious Blood; for
every grace, every help from On High,
every celestial gift, is a fruit, a transformed
drop of the Precious Blood.
The characteristics that mark the vivify
ing effusions of the Heart of Jesus, their
spontaneity and readiness, their abundance
and liberality, their prodigality and magnifi
cence, their fidelity and constancy, are all
characteristics of love. Love alone has
willed to turn itself into Blood, in order to
save us, since salvation could be procured
only through the Blood of the Man-God. It
was love alone that urged Him to pour it
forth. In fine, it is only love that gives
gratuitously, that gives without counting
the cost, that gives without regret : " Chris-
tus dilexit nos et lavit nos in Sanguine suo:
—Christ hath loved us, and washed us in
His own Blood "(1).
(1) Apoc. i, 5.
224: The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Let us apply our soul to the source of the
Precious Blood that we may taste abund
antly of its effusions and bless it in them.
The liberal, the prodigal Heart of Jesus
shed it by the wound of the Circumcision
made in the tender flesh of the Infant of
eight days, by the ruddy sweat that bathed
the whole person of the Man-God in His
agony, by the furrows opened on His shoul
ders and His breast, by the biting blows of
the flagellation, and by the punctures in His
forehead and head made by the sharp thorns
of the mock crown. Again, did that Heart
shed Its life-blood through the cruel wounds
dug by the weight of the Cross on His
sacred shoulder, and those of His knees
from the triple fall on the way to Calvary;
through the gaping wounds of His hands
and feet; and lastly, through the opening
in His side made by the lance after death.
All the Blood of the Sacred Heart flowed
even to the last drop in those successive
effusions.
But not yet satisfied, and desiring to give
all at one stroke, He took the Eucharistic
chalice and, presenting it to all men of all
times^, He gave to each the whole plenitude
of His Blood ! And when all have satiated
Fifteenth Day. 225
their thirst, it still remains in all its ful
ness, always offered, always fresh, always
sweet, always inebriating : " Calix cui
benedicimus, nonne conininnicatio Sanguinis
Christi est? — The chalice which we bless, is
it not the communion of the Blood of
Christ ?"(!)
Flowing over the Eucharistic cup, the
Precious Blood, propelled by the Sacred
Heart, runs through the channels of the
Sacraments and Sacramentals, finds an out
let in Indulgences, in the institutions of the
Church, in the Supreme Pontificate, in the
episcopacy and the priesthood, in that ad
mirable economy of actual graces, which
stretches like a net-work over souls, anJ
whose salutary action is everywhere felt!
Not only in the Church Suffering does
the Sacred Heart pour out with Its redeem
ing Blood floods of relief, light and peace,
it shoots its luminous jets up to heaven,
where they fill the saints with new joys and
the Most Holy Trinity with satisfaction and
glory.
How is it possible not to taste even to
inebriation the invigorating joys of grati-
(1) I Cor. x, 16.
226 The Eucharist ic Heart of Jesus.
tude when we drink at the source of the
Sacred Heart, accessible to all, the living
waters of the Precious Blood, which love
sends forth with eagerness so spontaneous,
with abundance so liberal, with persever
ance so magnificent: " El calix meus ine-
brians, quani prae clams est! — And my
chalice which inebriateth me, how goodly is
it ! " What can prevent us from intoning
with gladness the canticle of thanksgiving:
" Calicem salutaris accipiam et nomen
Domini invocabo. — I will take the chalice of
salvation, and I will call upon the name of
the Lord" (1).
REPARATION.
"In remissionem peccatorum — This is
My Blood of the new testament which shall
be shed for many unto remission of
sins "(2).
It was for the remission of the sins with
which Christ charged Himself that He shed
His Blood. This determinative reason for
the effusion of the Precious Blood neces
sarily impressed upon it the character of
humiliation and suffering, because it was an
(1) Ps. cxv.
(2) Matt, xxvi, 28.
Fifteenth Day. 227
expiatory punishment imposed and accepted.
And the Sacred Heart, the luminous source
of every joy, became the dark and sorrow
ful piscina, in which sinners ought to wash
away their stains in the humiliation and
sorrow of penitence : " In die ilia erit fons
patens in ablutionem peccatoris — In that
day there shall be a fountain open for the
washing of the sinner "(I)-
Approaching with fear and contrition to
the Sacred Heart in the Sacrament which is
a memorial of His Passion, we shall see how
cruel and ignominious were the effusions
of the Precious Blood when the Sacred Vic
tim was capable of suffering; and we shall
discern, also, that even now, when endowed
with impassibility, It embraces a state of
humiliation which forcibly recalls the abase
ment of His Passion and death. The sight
ought to fill us with as much compassion
for the sweet and patient Victim of our
crimes as contempt for ourselves and hatred
for sin.
Certainly, there are some glorious oc
casions to shed one's blood ; for instance, it
covers the soldier with a glorious and
(1) Zach. xiii, 1.
228 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
coveted purple when it gushes from wounds
received in defence of " his altars and his
fires." But to shed it under the blows of
the public executioner, is the very depth of
ignominy. Now, Jesus, the Holy One,
poured out His in the Garden, prostrate,
His face to the earth, weighed down by fear
and sadness, and upon the Cross, despised
and abandoned by His Father, as a culprit
condemned by the divine wrath. He poured
it out under blows, rods, and nails, like i
criminal executed by public justice. His
Heart thrilled with indignation under the
undeserved chastisement, the cruel outrage
done Him ; but at the same time, He abased
Himself in humble resignation, since we had
merited them, we whose place He had
taken! Ah, with what excess of love He
pours out every drop, He who was so deli
cate and sensitive, although its effusion
was provoked by the barbarous whips,
clubs, and nails, by the cruel flagellation,
the crowning with thorns, and the Cruci
fixion !
The mysterious effusion of the Conse
cration or of the Eucharistic Communion
is not less humiliating, even when cele
brated by saints for the good of saints,
Fifteenth Day. 229
since it reduces the immortal Christ to the
state of a mere potion. But how often,
alas ! is It accompanied by indifference, if
not by contempt, treason, and profanation !
How often It wins but ingratitude or even
hatred ! It is the Blood of the Immaculate
Lamb sullied by contact with impurity:
" Sanguinem Testamenti pollutum "(1). It
is the Blood of the Resurrection condemned
to bring forth death. It is the supreme out
rage which for all eternity renders a man
guilty of the " Blood of the Lord : Reus
zrit Sanguinis Domini "(2).
And how many other abuses and profa
nations, how much contempt and squander
ing of the Precious Blood by mortal, by
venial sin, in the bad or imperfect use of
the Sacraments and infidelity to grace !
What injuries, what humiliations for the
Precious Blood, a single drop of which is
worth more than innumerable worlds, and
would suffice to redeem them all were they
created ! But what bitter deception for the
Heart that poured it out at the price of so
many sacrifices so generously embraced!
(1) Heb. x, 29.
(2) I Cor. xi, 27.
230 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Reparation ! Consolation ! Compassion
for the Sacred Heart which vainly sheds Its
Precious Blood " for the remission of in
numerable sins ! " Contrition, humility,
sorrow for our sins!
PETITION.
" This is My Blood which was shed for
you ! — Qui pro vobis effundetur."
These words tell us that the effusion of
the adorable Blood at the Last Supper and
on the altar, as well as on Calvary, was of
fered to God as a pacific Host, or an im-
petratory Sacrifice, to obtain for men all the
divine benefits of which they have need in
time in order to obtain the Eternal Good.
The Sacred Heart here disclosing Itself
behind the double veil of the sacramental
Species and the Breast of Jesus, like a living
sanctuary in which the Precious Blood, pure
and august priest, enveloped in its splendid
purple, exercises its eternal Priesthood. It
offers to God its prayers in the name of all
men whom it has redeemed. It sends up
its voice even to the Father's throne inter
ceding for earth and pleading the cause of
sinners. At length, it appears before the
face of the Father in the lustre of its bril-
Fifteenth Day. 231
liant charms, in the omnipotence of its love,
with the infinite merits of its sufferings,
and the rights conferred on it by its vic
tories. How could God remain deaf to the
voice of the Blood of Jesus, more eloquent
than that of Abel's blood, which cried for
vengeance, while that of Jesus asks only for
mercy? Why should the Father not thrill
with joy at the voice of His own Blood, for
it is the Blood of His Well-Beloved Son
that sounds in His ear. Again, God is the
debtor of the Precious Blood. He promised
His Son, if He would consent to sacrifice
Himself to His justice, to give Him
sovereign dominion in heaven and on earth.
Now, this means the disposal of all the
treasures of grace and glory.
If the Divine Majesty sees Jesus in His
glory in heaven, retaining of His past com
bats only the marks of the Five Wounds,
which shine in His hands and feet like bril
liant rubies, He beholds Him at the same
time humbly poured out in the poor form
of some drops of ordinary wine. He sees
Him annihilated in dust and ashes, hiding
His beauty and glory under the dense veil
of the Sacrament, constantly pouring forth
His prayer of self-abasement while multi-
%32 The Encharistic Heart of Jesus.
plying His Divine Presence on altars all
over this vale of misery and tears.
What an omnipotent prayer is that of the
Precious Blood, issuing from the Sacred
Heart with such love and innocence, en
riched with so many merits, accompanied by
self-oblation so perfect, manifested by im
molation so entire upon so many altars, and
continued both in heaven and on earth with
perseverance so unwearied!
Let us, then, always pray in union with
the Precious Blood and through the
Precious Blood. Let us plunge our peti
tions into the Precious Blood. Tinted with
its hues, so pleasing in the sight of God,
purified by its purity, penetrated by its
virtues, enriched with its merits, our
prayers will surely be acceptable to God
and will gain what they ask. " Te ergo
quaesumus, Domine, tuis famulis subveni,
quos pretioso Sanguine redemisti! — We be
seech Thee, O Lord, help Thy servants
whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy
Precious Blood!"
Let us sprinkle ourselves spiritually with
the Precious Blood when we pray, and let
us pour it over all for whom we intercede,
for every oblation sprinkled with blood is
Fifteenth Day. 233
agreeable to God. We cannot better enter
into the designs of the Sacred Heart than by
incessantly drawing from It the redeeming
Blood to pour it over the souls of sinners,
over those of the just who are still com
bating, and over those that are suffering in
the purifying flames.
" The Precious Blood conquers, and it
is for God that it makes its conquests. It
invades the kingdom of darkness and
illumines whole countries with the rays of
its brilliant light. It puts down rebels,
brings back exiles to their country, and re
claims wanderers. It re-establishes peace,
grants amnesties, and wonderfully adminis
ters the kingdom which it has marvellously
conquered. It is the crown, the sceptre, and
the throne of the invisible royalty of
God!" (1)
Let us not end this hour of adoration
without asking for the grace and taking the
resolution ever to make good use of the
Precious Blood, by fidelity to grace and the
accomplishment of every duty, by patience
in suffering and zeal to receive the Sacra
ments eagerly and fervently. May one of
(1) Father Faber.
234: The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
our most habitual aspirations be that which
the priest recites at the moment of receiving
the Adorable Blood: " May the Blood of
Jesus Christ guard my soul to eternal life ! —
Sanguis Jesu Christi custodiat animam
meam in vitam aeternam!"
Pray for an increase of religious vo
cations.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most
precious Blood of Jesus Christ, in expiation
of my sins and for the wants of Holy
Church.
(100 days' Indulgence.')
Sixteentb
THE EUCHARISTIC HEART, THE MODEL OF ALL
VIRTUES.
Cor Jesu, virtutum omnium exemplar, mise
rere nobis!
ADORATION.
ONE of the most clearly marked ends of
the different Revelations of the Sacred
Heart, both of the evangelical and the
Eucharistic life of the Saviour, is to offer
Himself to our imitation as the model of all
virtues, an example to follow, an example
at one and the same time the most perfect
and the best suited to our weakness.
At Nairn, the Saviour, calling to the
crowds, thus addressed them : " Come to
My school, become My disciples. You will
never find a master so good, so devoted, so
disinterested, so patient, for I am meek
and humble of Heart: Discite a me} quia
mitis sum et humilis Corde." And again,
which amounts to almost the same :
" Learn of Me, by coming to Me, by stay-
235
236 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
ing with Me, by living with Me, how meek
and humble of Heart I am — Discite a me,
quia mills sum et humilis Corde"
At Paray, " My Well-Beloved presented
Himself to me," says Blessed Margaret
Mary, " and said : ' I intend to make thee
read in the Book of Life wherein is con
tained the science of love/ Then disclos
ing to me His Heart, He let me read these
words : ' My love reigns in suffering, it
triumphs in humility, and it enjoys in
unity.' ' Love, patience in suffering,
humility, meekness toward the neighbor,
union with God by prayer and conformity
with His will, resemblance carried so far
as even moral unity — behold what is shown
forth in Him, what He teaches, and
what He desires all to imitate in
His Sacred Heart. He is, at once,
the Master and the Model of holiness.
What He has Himself practised, He com
municates to souls and impresses upon them.
Again, says Blessed Margaret Mary : " As
soon as I began to pray, my Sovereign
Master showed me that my soul was a piece
of canvas upon which He desired to paint
the features of His own suffering life, which
had been spent in love and privation, in
Sixteenth Day. 237
silence and labor, and which ended in sac
rifice. He gave me to understand that He
was going to impress it on my soul after
purifying it from every stain that might re
main in it, as well from affection to earthly
things as from love for creatures for whom
I felt some natural inclination. But He de
spoiled me at this moment of everything
and, after having emptied my heart and
stripped my soul, He enkindled therein so
great a desire to love Him and to suffer
that I had no repose, so occupied was I with
the thought of what I could do to love Him
and to crucify myself."
We cannot doubt that the Sacred Heart
reveals Itself as the living and magnetic
model of all the virtues that are comprised
in perfection and holiness. The heart is
the symbol of the soul, the source of vir
tuous acts, which are such only on account
of their conformity with reason. It is the
symbol of the will, whose free adhesion to
the moral beauty of those acts and its effort
to produce them, in spite of contrary pas
sions, bestow upon them their value and
merit. It is, in fine, the symbol of love, the
life of every virtue, as being the power
that tends to the possession of good by its
17
238 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
resemblance to God, the Infinite Good, the
substantial Perfection.
This increated Perfection, our eye.s
wounded by sin can no longer view in super
natural light. To punish man for his rash
curiosity and foolish pretention to gain by
his own efforts the knowledge of God, Df
good, and of evil, that blessed light was
hidden from him. By merely natural light,
dimmed as it is by heavy shadows, he can
but very imperfectly understand the divine
and adequate Image of the Word come in
immense pity to bring to the world, by mak
ing Himself man, a created, finite image
proportioned to the weakness of our sighf,.
and to manifest the transcendent perfection
of God in human virtues. He teaches their
nature, proclaims their necessity, promise ^
their magnificent recompense, and thus
makes them known to the world.
But as in the matter of morality, example
is more efficacious than precept, He Him
self practised perfectly every virtue de
manded by the various states through which
He successively passed. He was a child
growing in wisdom and grace ; a youth
laborious and submissive to His parents ; an
apostle, prepared by penance and devotedly
consuming Himself in the service of the
Sixteenth Day. 239
people; a mediator passing whole nights
prostrate in prayer. He was the inexhaus
tible benefactor of the needy; the compas
sionate physician of all maladies; the wel
come consoler, patient and gentle under all
trials ; the faithful and disinterested friend ;
the intrepid champion of truth; the cour
ageous defender of justice; the invincible
vindicator of the rights and honor of His
Father ; in fine, the heroic victim freely of
fered to Divine Justice for the salvation of
the world. He endured every sorrow,
every unmerited ignominy in sublime
silence, with strength that overcame death it
self, and in abandonment to the will of
God, which was for Him the triumph of
love. All these virtues He practise 1
in exact measure, with no excess, with
perfect balance. The one did not in
jure the other, and He presented them
in a manner imitable by all men of good will.
Without demanding anything impossible,
He could say : " Exeinplum enim dcdit
vobis, ut quemadmodum ego fed vobis, ita
et vos faciatis — For I have given you an
example that, as I have done to you, so
you do also " (1).
(1) John xiii, 15.
240 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
By inviting us to study the examples of
His virtues in His Heart, the Master wished
to make them more lovable, consequently,
He encourages us with the words : " Ve-
nite ad me omnes! — Come ye all to Me." He
wished to sweeten, to lighten the practice of
virtue, which restrains and mortifies the
passions : " Jugum meum dulce et onus
nieum leve — My yoke is sweet and My
burden light." By proclaiming His Heart
meek and humble, He wished to show us
His great condescension in making Him
self all to all, demanding of everyone only
what he can give. He shows, also, His
patience in supporting our sluggishness and
delays, His compassion in raising us up
when we fall and receiving us after in
fidelity more or less prolonged : Discite a
me, quiet mills sum et humilis Corde. He
wished, in fine, that the works and struggles
of virtue, however painful, however sor
rowful they may be at certain times, should
be performed without too great trouble of
soul, that they should leave it in the pos
session of a peace too exquisite to be any
other than celestial and a foretaste of the
eternal repose promised to such as shall
have fought to the end : " Requiem invc-
Sixteenth Day. 241
nietis animabus vestris — You shall find
peace to your souls."
THANKSGIVING.
We shall go, then, to the school of Thy
Heart, O infinitely good Master ! We shall
enter therein and try to see all Its virtues.
We shall make profession of dwelling there
in, and we shall comprehend their beauty,
taste their charm, accept their law and
sacrifices. We shall draw from Its inex
haustible treasures the grace, the strength,
and the helps we need. Confiding in Its
guidance, our own heart closely united to It,
we shall apply courageously and persever-
ingly to the practice of Its virtues in order
to please and glorify Thee!
We have heard Thee say to Thy faithful
confidante : " Enter, My daughter, into
this delicious garden that thou mayst revive
thy languishing soul." She understood
that He meant the garden of His Sacred
Heart, the diversity of whose flowers is as
delightful as their beauty is admirable.
" After I had looked at them, but without
daring to touch them, He said to me : ' Cull
what thou pleasest ! ' " O beauty ! O
242 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
liberality ! O magnificence of the Heart of
a God become Man in order to enrich man
with all the treasures of Its perfection and
holiness !
When example is directly under our eyes,
the more powerfully does it excite us to
imitation. Certainly those from the mortal
life of the Saviour, preserved with their
circumstantial and vigorous details in the
holy Gospels, may be said to be present
under the eyes of all generations. The
Spirit of Life which animates every one of
their syllables gives to their assertions a
supernatural vigor capable of penetrating
the coldest hearts and leading them to imi
tation. The generous Restorer of the
moral world was not satisfied with leaving
to us the book of His Gospels, in which His
virtues are engraven in characters deeper
and more lasting than the precepts of the
Law upon the tables of Sinai. He wished
to be here below and until the end of time
the living Exemplar of all sanctity. That
is one of His reasons for instituting the
Holy Eucharist. He desires to be able to
show Himself present at all times and in all
parts of the world, to be able to say to
every one of its inhabitants : " Look and
Sixteenth Day. 243
do according to the example that I give
you ! " When, at the Last Supper, He was
explaining the effects that His Flesh ought
to produce in the soul of those that would
receive It, He said : " He that eateth M\
Flesh abideth in Me, and I in him. He that
keeps My commandments loves Me and
abides in Me ; and I will love him and
manifest Myself to him — Et ego diligam
eum et manifestabo ei meipsum" (1). This
intimate manifestation, this interior revela
tion is, without doubt, that of the grandeur
and the mysteries of the Divinity and the
Humanity of Jesus. But what more ad
mirably grand, what more harmoniously
mysterious than His virtues at once divine
and human, in which are allied so much
sovereign power, so much humility, and so
much human weakness? Jesus will reveal
the secrets of all this to him who, having
received sacramentally, will abide in com
munion of spirit with Him by doing His
will.
Again, He said : " I am the way, the
truth, and the life — Ego sum via, veritas,
et vita." He is the true way, the living
(1) John xiv, 21.
244 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
way, the way that leads to life by the
illumined paths on which, walking after
Him, we cannot wander in the darkness of
error. Way and example are here syn
onymous, for if the example invites to
action, the way leads us on. Jesus has,
then, instituted the Eucharist in order to
lead us to perfect life, namely, His own life
and that of His Father, and He assures us
that all who eat His Flesh live that life. To
allow one's self to be guided by Him, to
follow Him, to tread in His footsteps, is to
imitate His virtues and reproduce His life.
That this way may be always open before
us, it is found all over the earth, like a
royal road leading from all points of our
exile to our eternal home.
The Saviour again tells us : " He that
eateth My Flesh abideth in Me, and he that
abideth in Me beareth much fruit — Qui
manet in Me, hie fert fructum multum."
This fruit which, without Him, we cannot
bear, which ripens only upon the branch
vitally united to the trunk of the vine, is
evidently the fruit of the supernatural vir
tues which, borne first by Jesus, ought to
extend to us and ripen in us, who are shoots
ingrafted on the divine stock. As every
Sixteenth Day. 245
branch is nourished by sap from the trunk,
which it passes on into the fruits produced
among its foliage, so the Christian virtues
are produced, developed, and nourished by
the sap of Jesus Christ poured into the soul
by the sacramental manducation of His
Flesh. The Saviour here lays down His
Eucharist as a fundamental condition for
the production of the virtues. It is in It
that we must receive them, by It that we
must nourish them, with It that we must
practise them. But as the virtues are
things essentially spiritual and, conse
quently, rational, things of intelligence
which comprehends them, and things of the
will which turns to them freely, we can
know them only when Jesus shows them to
us, and we are borne to them only when He
attracts us and gives us the strength to fol
low His attraction. Hence, the institution
of His Eucharistic Presence, to reveal to us
His virtues by sowing in us the seed, by
cultivating and nourishing it, by sheltering
it from the storms of the passions and of
the world, and from the destructive tem
pests of sin.
In His Sacramental Presence, which will
last as long as the world, just as during
18
246 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
His mortal life of thirty-three years under
the skies of Galilee and Judea, He calls men
to His Heart that they may learn there to
understand and imitate His virtues. " Abid-
in Me, abide in My love — Manete in me, ma-
net e in dilectione meal'' And He drew
John down upon His Heart in order to re
veal to Him all Its secrets, to communicate
to him all Its virtues, and to transform him
into His other Self.
What passed in the Cenacle was repro
duced at Paray. " Showing me one day
His loving Heart," says Blessed Margaret
Mary, " He said to me : ' Behold the
Teacher whom I give to thee, from whom
thou wilt learn all that thou shouldst do for
My love. Thou shalt be Its well-beloved
disciple.' " Let us now see how this great
Master of love acted in her regard:
" Being one day before the Blessed Sacra
ment, I felt myself encompassed by the
Divine Presence. He made me rest a long
time on His breast, discovering to me the
marvels of His love and the inexplicable
secrets of His Sacred Heart. He disclosed
It to me in a manner effective and sensible,
saying : '• My Divine Heart is so passion-
atelv in love with men that, not being able
Sixteenth Day. 247
to contain the flames of Its burning love, It
must of necessity pour them forth, mani
fest them, in order to enrich them with Its
precious treasures, which contain the sanc
tifying graces and all that is necessary to
withdraw them from the abyss of per
dition.' '
" Sanctifying graces," the graces of sanc-
tification for the soul, are, indeed, the graces
of the Christian virtues, whose sustained
and progressive culture constitute the per
fection of the Christian in every state.
They are poured into the soul by the Sacra
ments, above all by the Eucharist, first, like
so many seeds, and then as the forces that
germinate those seeds and develop them
more and more perfectly. But they also act
morally on the soul, enlightening it, stirring-
it up, and encouraging it to imitate its
Model.
REPARATION.
But, O good Master, in the bread, in that
state of material inertia in which Thou hast
chosen to remain amongst us, can we truly
say that Thou dost practise the virtues, and
that they are sufficiently apparent to serve
us for models of imitation? That such is
£48 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
true of Thy life spent among men during
Thy mortal existence, which flowed on in a
human manner under the eyes of all, we well
know. The Gospel preserves, living and
ineffable, Thy touching and admirable ex
amples of all virtues. But in this sacra
mental existence, speechless, . motionless,
hidden, with no external relations with men
—how admit, how see Thy virtues?
I hear Thee answering me through
Catholic doctrine that Thou hast freely
chosen the exterior signs of the Sacra
ments to express sensibly what their spir
itual reality operates spiritually, and
that this is true of the Eucharist as of all
the other Sacraments. Still more, that
while in them Thou dost act only by a power
distinct from Thyself and limited to the
moment in which they are applied to the
soul, under the Eucharistic Sign, so long
as It retains Its integrity, Thou dost remain
personally present and living. In fine, that
it is Thyself, although invisible, who, freely
and by a personal action, in which Thou art
visibly seconded by the priest, dost con
stantly renew in the Holy Sacrifice Thy
Sacramental Presence.
From these certain principles there evi-
Sixteenth Day. 249
dently flow these consequences, namely,
that if the sensible sign of the bread tells of
the spiritual nutriment of the soul operated
by the Eucharist, the materiality of this
same bread, its inertia and dependence, its
mean appearance, speak just as clearly
of the humility of Him who, in order
to remain therein, annihilates Himself
to this state of matter, although He
is Man, of glorified condition, and already
in possession of His eternal kingdom. The
outward signs of the Eucharist tell of
Christ's submission and obedience to the
laws of nature from which His glorified
state has freed Him, and to the will of man
over whom He has acquired the indisputable
right to reign. They tell of His love of
poverty, mortification, and silence, which
He displays in this state which binds His
lips, closes His eyes to every external sight,
chains His members, and gives Him for
abode a perishable Host, a crumb of bread,
poorer than the poorest coverings of the
most destitute beggar. The multiplication
of the Host, which places Him unceasingly
at the service of all ; His manner of giving
Himself by manducation, which delivers
Him unreservedly to all for their good ; His
250 The Euchanstic Heart of Jesus.
abiding Presence daily renewed — do not all
these tell us of the most perfect love for all
those of whom, only Son of God as He is,
He has willed to become the neighbor, in
order to contract the obligation of loving
them as brethren, of dying, of rising from
the tomb, and of incessantly renewing the
double miracle of His life and His death
for their advantage alone ? And lastly, that
sweetness, that longanimity, that absence
of retaliation, and even of resistance in sup
porting ingratitude, contempt, abandon
ment, outrage, sacrilegious attempts and the
most horrible profanations — are not these
the sign of that sublime and heroic patience
which, sustained by the victorious strength
of love, is the queen of virtues, their per
fection and their crown?
Yes, assuredly, the virtues which Thou
dost practise in the Blessod Sacrament are
real and true, O Eucharistic Christ! They
are visible to all eyes, since it is sufficient
to look upon the Host, and there behold the
material sign of the bread which sensibly
expresses them ! They recall all the virtues
of Thy life and continue them under a new
form. Shall I dare affirm that this Eucha
ristic form, which is the inspiration of Thv
Sixteenth Day. 251
supreme love, by which Thou hast willed to
touch the limit of the possible in point of
generosity and gift, communicates to Thy
virtues the same character of perfection, of
completion, of having reached the highest
possible degree: In finem dilexit? And as
it is Thy love in its consummation which
has reduced Thee to this state, and led Thee
to carry Thy virtues to a point that cannot
be excelled, it is to Thy Heart that we owe
those inestimable examples that incite us to
holiness, sustain us in its attainment, and
lead us to perfect resemblance with Thee,
O Jesus, and with Thy Father, the eternal
Unity of beatitude ! It is, also, Thy Heart
in the Sacrament that we should study in
our adoration. There we shall learn the
secret of Thy virtues, and to It we should
recur for grace and help !
Doing this, we shall follow the lessons
of her whom Thou hast crowned with the
glorious title of " Well-beloved disciple
of Thy Heart," and whom we shall desire
to follow as a consummate mistress in the
art of making It known. Behold the very
lucid instruction that she gave her novices
to impel them to the imitation of the Eucha-
ristic virtues of Thy Sacred Heart :
252 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
PETITION.
COVENANT OF LOVE TO HONOR THE DIVINE
HEART OF JESUS.
" Live Jesus in the heart of His faithful
servants who desire to consecrate all their
actions as homage to His Sacred Heart
in the Blessed Sacrament!
" First, in the morning, after having
placed ourselves under the protection of the
Blessed Virgin, let us beg her to offer us to
Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, in
order to render homage to the offering
which He there makes of Himself to the
Eternal Father. Let us unite our soul to
His that He may preserve it from sin, our
heart to His Heart that He may consume
in it all that is displeasing to Him. Thus
must we unite all that we are to all that He
is, and beg Him to supply for what is want
ing in us.
" Let us unite our prayer to that which
Jesus makes in the Blessed Sacrament for
us. At the end of it let us offer to God that
of His Divine Son to repair our defects and
loss of time.
" At the Office, let us unite our praises
with those of Jesus, endeavoring to enter
into His holy dispositions and ardent purity,
Sixteenth Day. 253
that He may in everything supply for us
before His Divine Father.
" He is obedient to priests good or bad,
He places Himself in their hands to die
therein mystically, assuming the character
of victim in order to allow Himself to be
sacrificed and immolated according to their
designs, without testifying the least resist
ance. To conform myself to Him I shall
be prompt to obedience. Like a victim of
immolation, I shall place myself in the
hands of my superioresses, of whatever kind
they may be, in order that, dying to my own
will, passions, inclinations, and aversions,
they may dispose of me in any way they
wish without my manifesting the least re
pugnance. The violence that I shall do my
self shall be to honor that which Jesus does
Himself to enter into souls stained by sin.
He has so much horror of them that, every
time He enters such a one, He renews in it
the mortal agony that He suffered in the
Garden of Olives.
" His life is entirely hidden from the eyes
of creatures, who perceive naught but the
poor, vile species of bread and wine. In
the same way, I shall endeavor to keep my
self so hidden that I shall have no greater
joy than to allow whatever is meanest and
254 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
most abject in me to appear, in order to
keep myself concealed under the dust of
humility, by the rebuffs and contempt of
creatures. Thus shall I console my Jesus
in the contempt, injuries, sacrileges, prof
anations, and other indignities He receives
in this hidden life, and of which He never
complains. For the same reason, I shall
neither pity nor excuse myself, always re
membering that every one has a right to ac
cuse me, humble me, and make me suffer,
since the love of the Sacred Heart obliges
me to endure everything without lamenting
or saying it is enough.
"Jesus is always solitary in the Most
Blessed Sacrament, conversing therein with
God alone. To conform to Him, I shall
try to be everywhere alone, conversing in
teriorly only with my Jesus. My under
standing shall seek to know Him alone, that
my mind may be ever attentive to adore
Him and my heart ever yearning to love
Him.
" With regard to the life of the senses,
He is there as in a state of death. I, then,
should find my pleasure in having none, in
renouncing everything that could procure
me any, trying to mortify everything that
brings the least satisfaction.
Sixteenth Day. 255
" Jesus made Himself poor in the Most
Blessed Sacrament. To imitate and gain
His most amiable Heart, I must forsake
self, despise self, and be well pleased that
others should do the same in my regard.
" Jesus keeps perpetual silence, which I
desire to imitate by interior and exterior
silence, speaking only by the order of my
Rule and charity.
" O Sacred Heart of my Jesus, I choose
Thee for my dwelling-place that Thou
mayest be my strength in combat, the sup
port of my weakness, my light and my
guide in darkness and in fine, the Repairer
of all my faults, the Sanctifier of all my in
tentions and actions, which I unite to Thine
and offer to Thee to prove my unceasing
disposition to be one with Thee ! "
Cor Jcsu, exemplar virtutum omnium,
miserere nob-is! — Heart of Jesus, Model of
all virtues, have mercy on us !
To honor the silence of Jesus in the Host,
endeavor to observe such silence as is
compatible with your state of life.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I confide in
Thee!
(300 days' Indulgence.)
Sev>enteentb
JESUS HUMBLE OF HEART.
SUBJECT. — " D is cite a Me, quia mitis sum
et humilis Corde — Learn of me that I am
meek and humble of Heart." The subject of
this adoration is the study of the meaning of
the words: " Humilis Corde — Humble of
Heart." What sense do they convey?
What do they mean? What do they re
veal to us of the Sacred Heart? What do
they teach us and what do they exact of us ?
The answer to these questions will furnish
us with ample matter for adoration, thanks
giving, reparation, and petition.
Blessed Margaret Mary writes : " Look
upon Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament as
the Good Master who says to you : ' Learn
of Me to be meek and humble of heart,
otherwise you shall not be recognized nor
loved by My Heart, which will not acknowl
edge you for Its disciples unless you con
form to It by the practice of Its holy
256
Seventeenth Day. 257
ADORATION.
I adore Thee, O My Master ! I have
heard Thy call. I come to Thy school, and
I want to know the full meaning, the truth,
and the depth of this word by tasting its
grace and its sweetness, for it attracts me
as much by its sweetness as it impresses
me by its solemn gravity.
" Humble of Heart ! " What means this
declaration, in which Thou dost appear to
define Thyself, to discover to us the bottom
of Thy soul, to reveal to us the secret of
Thy life, to propose Thyself to the admira
tion as well as to the love of men, in orde:
to gain them, to succor them in their needs,
to console them in their pains?
How important for us to understand the
" Humility of Thy Heart," since Thou dcr>t
attribute to it effects so wonderful as " the
restoration from all fatigue and exhaustion,
the sweetening of all yokes, the lightening
of all burdens, along with rest and peace for
all souls."
I come to ask from Thyself the explana
tion of this great word, because there is no
human teacher, no saint, no angel who caxi
258 The Encharistic Heart of Jems.
give it to me, and because, also, Thou hast
' Learn of Mz—Discite a Me!"
Humble of Heart! "--The heart is love.
Love is its spontaneous impulse, its free
choice, its reasonable and definitive attach
ment. Love is the gift of self, prompt, en
tire, perpetual, without hesitation, without
reserve, without regret. Love is diametri
cally opposed to necessity, interest, or cal
culation.
"Humble of Heart!"— O my Christ
adored, is it not for Thee to be humble by
the free choice of Thy eternal love, by the
preference of humility to every other virtu*
by the yearning of Thy soul toward
humility, by the adhesion of Thy whole
being to humility?— humble by all the con
victions of Thy divinely enlightened mind,
all the force of Thy impeccable will, all the
ardor of Thy most pure and loving Heart?
t is not to be humble by necessity, no law
obliging Thee to it, O Thou Son of the
Eternal! Nor is it to be humble through
interest. Thou hast nothing to expect from
it. O Thou Master of all things, Thou hast
need of nothing! It is not to be humble
merely on some occasion, by accident, or be
cause it is suitable, humble only in appear-
Seventeenth Day. 259
ance, in some one point, in a passing
manner. No ! " Of heart," that is, from
the very bottom of one's soul in our liveli
est and strongest feelings, in that which
shows the hidden springs of life, in that
which endures as long as ourselves, is con
founded with self, is in fine our very self!
And Thou dost think it well to add : " Quid
mitis sum et humilis Corde — Because I am
meek and humble of Heart."
" Sum — I am " humble by My being and
by My nature, by My character and by Mv
mission, as I am by My determination and
My choice. I am humble by My Divinity,
annihilated in the lowly condition of crea
ture and slave. I am humble by means of
My soul and My mind, which fully com
prehend the nothingness of their origin and
their absolute dependence on the Creator.
I am humble by My will which has chosen
humilitation as the best means of giving
satisfaction to the Sovereign Justice, of
snatching man, dead through pride, from
the yoke of the prince of pride, and of gain-
. ing 'him by abasing Myself lower than he.
" Behold why I am humble of Heart."-
It is through love, through passion! T
have yearned for humility, I have espoused
260
The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
her, I love her ! I am hers. She possesses
Me, captivates Me, and I love her sway. I
love her bonds, I love her laws, I love the
abasement that she imposes upon Me. I
love even her excess, and I love the igno
minies with which she has drenched Me and
the death to which she conducted Me. I
regret so little the extreme humiliation
which I have endured from her that I still
remain attached to her, lovingly bearing her
yoke, rendered even heavier in the Eucha
rist!
This may appear incredible, inexplicable,
incomprehensible, since no human heart can
love humility with such love; only divine
love can reach such a height. Being in
finite, it finds its reasons above human hori
zons, manifests itself in ways inaccessible
to human power, and aims even at the in
finite. I have loved, I still love humility
with all the strength of My divine love, in a
divine manner, and in divine proportions.
I love it beyond the power, beyond the as
pirations, beyond even the conception of any
creature human or angelic. My humility is
My love, My Heart, Myself, God made
Man, the God-Man put to death upon the
accursed gibbet, the God-Man annihilated
Seventeenth Day. 261
under the dust of the Sacrament. Who
ever knows My humility knows Me, knows
My Heart, for I am humility personified,
humility in its sum and substance, humility
in infinite and eternal proportions : " Quia
mitis sum et humilis Corde ! "
THANKSGIVING.
How explain, excepting by the passion for
humility, the Incarnation of the Son of God.
come only to humble Himself and to be
humbled, descended into those humiliations
of which St. Paul says: "Although He
was God, by nature equal to His Father ; al
though He enjoyed the incommunicable
prerogatives of the Divine nature ; although
He was incapable of submitting to a will
superior to His own, or of seeking out of
Himself any good whatsoever, ff Cum in
forma Dei esset," " He has so loved thf
world " that He annihiliated Himself, made
Himself a creature and a slave, clothing
Himself with human nature: " Exmanivit
semetipsum, formam serin accipiens, et
habitu inventus ut homo." He made Him
self man, a creature of nothingness, that is,
He placed Himself in a state of dependence
and inferiority. Now, to take the state of
262 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
sinful man, was to make Himself a slave to
the divine wrath, subject to labor, chastise
ment and death. It is, however, to this state
that He descended. Under these laws the
only Son of God willed to live, " out of His
too great love for us " and for our misery.
His whole life here on earth was but the
manifestation of that extraordinary annihi
lation under the pressure of these three
derogatory forces: humiliation, obedience,
and suffering: " Humiliavit semetipsurn,
foetus obediens usque ad mortem, mortem
autem crucis."
He humbled Himself in the poverty of
His birth, in the persecutions of His early
infancy, in the submission of His youth, !n
the rough labors of His manhood, and in the
ignominious temptations of Satan in the
desert., He humbled Himself in the contra
dictions, the calumnies, the attacks that as
sailed His apostolic life ; in the agony of
fear, distress, and disgust that inaugurated
His Passion ; in the infamous accusations
made before the tribunals against His doc
trine, His conduct, and His influence over
the people. He humbled Himself by sub
mitting to the condemnation, to the punish
ment of the accursed ; to the flight, the
Seventeenth Day. 263
treason, the denial of His followers; to the
implacable abandonment of His own Father
in fine, to a death despised, mocked, blas
phemed, which sealed the depth of His
degradation !
All this humiliation and ignominy He had
foreseen, desired, willed. He had em
braced it with all His Heart. He identified
Himself with it, appearing " as one struck
by God and afflicted, despised and the most
abject of men: " Tanquam percussnm a
Deo et humiliation; — Opprobrium hominum
et abjectio plcbis; — Novissimum virorum, —
the last of men ; " no longer a man, but a
worm of the earth : " Hunriliavit seme tip-
sum!" — crushed under the heel of the
passer-by !
" He humbled Himself, becoming obedi
ent unto death." He was obedient all His
life, in the fulness of mature age as well as
in childhood, from the first pulsation of His
Heart, which was a profession of perpetual
obedience to the will of His Father, until
His last sigh when He delivered His soul
into His hands by an act of supreme aban
donment. He was obedient and submissive
to all the powers of nature, to all laws
human and divine. He was obedient to
264: The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
all the masters whom the sovereign author
ity of God delegated to rule over Him or
to chastise Him, such as Caiaphas, Pilate,
and Herod; or those others monstrously
stupid and sanguinary, such as the servants
of the High Priest at Gethsemani, the
drunken soldiers of the praetorium, and the
executioners of Calvary. He was obedient
to all their orders, caprices, and violence.
He offered without resistance and without
complaint His hands to those that bound
them1, His shoulders to those that scourged
them, His cheeks to buffets, His face to
spittle, His head to thorns, His hands and
feet to crucifixion, His Mother to the dis
ciple John, His life to death, and all at the
precise moment that His Father demanded
of Him the sacrifice.
And this obedience, which is the accen
tuated form of humility, He loved as a de
licious bread. " He nourished Himself
with it constantly as His only necessary
food," and He experienced ever an insati
able hunger to obey still more: ff Factus
obediens usque ad mortem! "
He annihiliated Himself " even unto
death, even to the death of the cross —
Usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis."
Seventeenth Day. 265
There are some deaths glorious and with
out suffering. But the Son of God, capti
vated by humility, delivered Himself to the
painful and ignominious death of the Cross,
because suffering is the highest form of
humiliation. It depresses, it debases, it
subjects, it allows no resistance, it destroys
happiness, joy, peace. It is the privation,
a privation violent, repugnant, horrible to
nature, of all the legitimate gifts of soul and
body, of society and life, and its end is death
itself.
It was for this reason that the Son of
God, descending from the sublime heights
of His beatitude, bathed in pure light and
environed by unalterable peace, plunges
into suffering and the most cruel of deaths.
He does so to satisfy His thirst for humil
ity and to attain the last degree of humilia
tion. This is what St. Paul has called the
folly, the insane love, excessive and im
measurable, of the Cross.
REPARATION.
Jesus loved the Cross. He sighed so ar
dently after it that His inability to obtain iu
at once was torture to His Heart. He
had, indeed, delivered Himself to suffering
266 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
without reserve. It possessed Him inter
iorly, since He had celebrated with it His
betrothal in the sanctuary of His Mother's
womb, under the eye of His Father, and in
presence of the Archangel Gabriel. But
when the hour came to espouse it before
heaven and earth, He delivered Himself to
it in a frenzy of passion. His love goaded
Him on, and made Him refuse anything
like delay. He called it His glory, His
triumph, and He begged His Father not to
delay it a single moment. He gave Him
self to this spouse of His choice in a way
that made Him one with her, and He ap
peared the Man of sorrows, and of all sor
rows : " Virum dolorum," clothed with
every sorrow, penetrated with sorrow even
to the marrow of His bones. He endured
it under every form : " Sclent cm infirmita-
teni." He was changed into sorrow. He
was sorrow become a man. A tempest of
all kinds of sorrow in its highest intensity
was precipitated upon Him. It swept over
Him. It inundated, stibmer.o-ed, engulfed
Him. It ravaged His Flesh, His Heart, His
Soul, tearing everything from Him, His
honor, His friendships, His works, His life.
With unexampled joy, He gave Himself up
Seventeenth Day. 2G7
to its devouring attacks: " Proposito sibi
gaiidio sustinuit cruccm!" He died of its
violence and He was happy to owe to it His
death, for even unto death He loved it : " Di-
lexit ct tradidit scmetipsum!"
This is what is to be understood, partly
at least, and in this manner is verified the
great word of Jesus : " I am humble of
Heart — Hnmilis Corde." When Jesus had
reached the last degree of humiliation, His
Father desired to recompense His heroism
by " exalting Him above every name " ac
cording to the measure of His abasement,
giving Him over men and things an empire
in extent equal to His own obedience and,
in exchange for His sufferings, pouring into
His soul and body the plenitude of life and
happiness, of which He is to be the inex
haustible source for all the blessed. He
called Him to Himself by the triumph of
His glorious Ascension. He made Him sit
on His throne at His right. He placed in
His hand the sceptre of eternal royalty,
while the angels and saints adored Him,
joyfully hailing and serving Him who had
abased Himself below them.
But Christ loved humility too much to
renounce humiliation ! The latter being
268 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
impossible in heaven, He descended again
to earth to find and embrace it in a love even
more rapturous than that of the Incarna
tion ! Having so loved it already, He wished
to love it " to the end," to the greatest limit
possible, so He shut Himself up with it in
the annihiliations of the Eucharist: "In
finem dilexit!"
He made Himself this humble, common
food, this miserable particle, this mite of
bread, which showing to His own at the
Last Supper, He said: "Hoc est corpus
meum — This, this particle, this nothing,—
this is My Body ! " Yes, in truth, this is
My Body, immortal and glorious. This is
My Blood, ruddy and rippling with joy.
This is My Heart overflowing with love.
This is My Soul and My Divinity. Yes, this
is I Myself in person! It is I, the Con
queror, — I, the immortal King of ages, — I,
the God of majesty, the Sovereign Master
of all that exists! Behold Me without
beauty, movement, or life, inferior to the in
sect or the blade of grass, which live, at
least, however low they may be in the order
of beings. I— I am below them by the con
dition of the sacramental state which I now
take, and which I shall retain till the last
dav of the world !
Seventeenth Day. 269
"This, this is My Body! It is I, the
Living One, who can no longer die. This
is I, delivered for you and for the remission
of your sins, a Victim immolated by the ac
ceptance perpetually renewed of the hu
miliations and sufferings of My death,
buried in the winding-sheet, and crushed
under the tombstone of the dead and inert
species of the Sacrament ! "
PETITION.
" Take and eat My Flesh. All ye, take
Me and eat Me ! — I am only a morsel of
bread, destined to disappear in the breast
of my creatures for their benefit. I am the
bread of sinful man, sinful by nature, today
actually a sinner, tomorrow again a sinner.
I am ordinary bread, by some disdained, —
bread that negligence renders useless, —
bread without flavor, causing nausea to
some, — bread which, given as a sign of
friendship, will be dealt treacherously with
by the perfidious. I am bread which the
impious will profane, which the sacrilegious
will cast to the impure beasts of hell that
swarm in their soul ! — Take ye all, and eat
of It ! I have made of My immortal Flesh
a simple remedy to cure your infirmities,
19
270 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
an ointment to dress your wounds, an anti
dote for your sinful desires. To whatever
degrading usage you may wish to devote
Me, I shall willingly lend Myself, I shall
consume Myself in it, for I am in heaven th2
Bread of light and glory for the angels and
the blessed. Here I wish to be the ob
scure Bread of the voyager and the humble
Viaticum of the dying!
" All this supposes unheard-of and in
credible abasement, an increase of humilia
tion which would seem to exhaust even the
imaginable and the possible, yes, even that
of My own wisdom and power. But ' I
have loved humility to the end/ and My
love carries Me away, drives Me to de
lirium, to excess : ' I am humble of Heart :
Qnia initis sum et humilis Cordel'"
" Humble of Heart ! " Oh, yes, I see
very plainly that Thou art all that Thou
sayest, O Christ, annihilated through pure
love, through Thy own free choice, through
inviolable attachment to humility, in the
multiplied annihiliations of the Crib, of
Calvary, and of the Altar! Have I com
prehended the whole truth, the whole depth
of this word? Have I praised its marvel
lous grandeur, its ineffable harmony? Have
Seventeenth Day. 271
I tested all its sweetness? Have I seen all
its influence over God and the world, all the
consequences it ought to have in the direc
tion of my thoughts and works?
Do I comprehend, even to effective con
viction, that it rigorously obliges me not
merely to esteem humility, not merely to sub
mit to its law, not to attempt to acquire it
in some small degree for the sake of the
spiritual advantages that it confers, but that
I must love it, cherish it, prefer it to every
thing else? Have I delighted in being
humbled, in obeying, in suffering? Have
I looked upon such things as the satisfac
tion of my best desires, as the gaining of a
sovereign good ? It is only at this price that
I shall truly learn of Jesus what it is to be
" humble of heart."
I adore, in the meantime, acknowledging
my inability to comprehend the greatness,
inappreciable to every created intelligence,
of this word great as Thy love and, conse
quently, great as Thyself, O Son of the In
finite! I admire, praise, love, and bless all
the wonders hidden in it. I invoke all its
vivifying virtues, all its deifying influences.
I am lost, annihiliated, with the cherubim
and the seraphim so perfectly humble, with
272 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Joseph and Mary, more humble still, in
adoration of Thy " humility of Heart." O
my God and my Saviour, my Victim and
my Bread of Life ! . . . <f Discite a me,
quia mitis sum et humilis Corde ! "
Blessed Margaret Mary possessed a just
and lively sentiment of the humility which
Jesus embraced with all His Heart in the
Most Blessed Sacrament.
" He is there as in a state of death with
regard to the life of the senses. His life
is perfectly hidden from the sight of crea
tures, who perceive nothing but the poor
and lowly species of bread and wine. He is
always alone, in perpetual silence, convers
ing only with God. He divests Himself of
everything in the Mo.st Blessed Sacrament,
giving us all that He has, and reserving
nothing for Himself.
" Beholding Him obedient to priests,
good and bad; putting Himself in their
hands to undergo a mystical death ; assum
ing the quality of victim in order to allow
Himself to be unresistingly immolated and
sacrificed according to their designs, to con
form to Him, I am prompt to obedience.
Like a host of immolation, I place myself
in the hands of my superiors for whatever
Seventeenth Day. 273
they will that, dying to my own will, to my
passions, inclinations, and aversions, con
cealing the repugnance that I may feel, they
may dispose of me according to their pleas
ure. The violence that I shall do myself
will be to honor that which Jesus must un
dergo on entering souls sullied by sin. Of
such souls He has so great horror that,
every time He enters one, He renews His
mortal agony of the Garden of Olives."
Honor the obedience of Jesus-Hostia b}<
faithfully fulfilling all your religious obli
gations.
Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make
my heart like unto Thine.
(300 days' Indulgence.}
OBEDIENCE OF THE EUCHARISTIC HEART.
ADORATION.
OBEDIENCE is the concrete form of hu
mility, its proof and its measure. It has its
seat in the will, the proper symbol of which
is the heart. It is sufficient to say what
place and with what perfection this virtue
occupies in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Obedience establishes the glorious empire
of God over the reasonable creature, per
fects him by conforming him in every par
ticular to the will and, consequently, to the
idea of God. The reality of obedience in
the Sacred Heart, the great advantages that
it brings to us, the immense and universal
evil of disobedience, the obligation to obey,
and the most opportune means of doing so
— will furnish successive motives for adora
tion, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition.
Through their consideration we shall im
plore an abundant participation in the most
obedient Heart of Jesus, the Divine Master,
274
Eighteenth Day. 275
who here, as elsewhere, " began by doing
before teaching."
Blessed Margaret Mary once wrote to a
novice: " Your challenge (1) will be
obedience both interior and exterior. First,
you will promptly obey the inspirations of
grace urging to acts of the virtues, bearing
in mind these words : ' If today you hear
the voice of the Lord, harden not your
heart/ for grace comes once and returns
no more. As for the exterior, you will
obey all who have authority over you
promptly, simply, lovingly, and without
reply, having at heart these words : ' I am
not come to do My own will, but the will of
Him who has called Me.' At the first sound
of the bell, you will run as if at the voice
of the Spouse, saying : ' He became obedi
ent unto death. I, too, will obey till the last
sigh of my life/ ': . . . Let your obedi
ence honor that of Jesus Christ in the
Blessed Sacrament.
" Lord," said Solomon in the days of his
wisdom, when he took possession of the
throne of David, his father, " give to Thy
servant a docile heart, Dabis servo tuo cor
(1) A challenge is an invitation to the prac
tice of some special virtue.
276 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
docile" (1). This was the prayer that was
made by the eternal Son of God, the same
gift that He received when He annihiliated
Himself by taking our created nature, in
order to enter the service of His Father and
restore to Him the human race, subject to
His empire. " In the head of the book it is
written of Me that I should do Thy will. O
my God, I have desired it, and Thy law in
the midst of My Heart — Deus meus, volui,
et legem tuum in medio Cordis mei" (2).'
These words, which St. Paul places on
the lips of the Word at the moment of His
Incarnation : " Ingrediens mundum," pro
claim in what light the Son of God made
Man considered and embraced obedience.
Equal to the Father in glory, with the power
of remaining so for all eternity by right of
His eternal birth, " Qui cum in forma Dei
esset," He voluntarily became inferior by
taking human nature. This He did in order
to be able to offer the homage and repara
tion of an obedience truly worthy of the
Divine Majesty, " Semetipsum exinanivit,
foetus obediens" The Word Incarnate,
(1) III Kings iii, 9.
(2) Ps. xxxix, 9.
Eighteenth Day. 271
therefore, accepted obedience not only as a
necessity of His humanity, and as a chastise
ment of man's sin, with which He had
charged Himself, but He chose it freely.
He elevated it by a love of predilection that
He might espouse it and give Himself to it
forever without reserve. He placed it in
the centre of His Heart, to love and cherish
it above every other affection; to be pos
sessed, ruled, and directed by it in every
thing ; to serve it and satisfy it forever :
" Et legem tuam in media Cordis meo —
And Thy law in the midst of My Heart."
It measured the first pulsation of His
Heart, says St. Paul, by giving It over in
Its formation to the accomplishment of the
will of God: " Ingr ediens mundum, dicit:
Ecce venio ut faciam voluntateni tuam —
Coming into the world, He said : Behold, I
come to do Thy will " (1). And it arrested
Its last throb in the supreme moment when
the obedient Victim clung without reserve
to the will of the Father who demanded -His
life : " In manus Tuas, Domine, commendo
spiritum meum! — Into Thy hands, O Lord,
I commend My spirit ! "
(1) Heb. x, 5-7.
20
278 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
THANKSGIVING.
We owe eternal gratitude to the obedi
ence of Jesus Christ, for it merited for us
justification and salvation. " For as by the
disobedience of one man, many were made
sinners; so also by the obedience of one
many shall be made just — Ita et per unius
obcditionem justi constituents multi"(l).
Adam's outburst of proud independence
of the Creator, manifested by revolt against
His formally expressed will, outraging His
majesty, wounding His sovereign rights,
despising His love and His benefits, had
broken the bond of friendship which, unit
ing the Heavenly Father to His adopted
children, shed upon them the divine life,
that is, holiness, immortality, and happiness.
Then it was that sin, suffering, and death
chastised both in time and eternity the un
grateful, the stupid disobedience of Adam,
leaving him no power to efface his fault or
expiate its punishment. Obedience alone
could re-esta'blish what disobedience had
destroyed. But it had to be an obedience
altogether worthy of God, an obedience al
together free, without imperfection or
(i) Rom. v, 19.
Eighteenth Day. 279
weakness. It had to be an obedience which
would attain supreme perfection, one in
spired by love alone, and embellished by
holiness, whose merit would far transcend
the debts of disobedience; in one word, it
should in every way be infinite.
No son of sinful Adam could possibly
render such obedience; no, not even the
Virgin preserved from original sin, since
her qualities, her power for good are limited
like those of every other creature. It was
necessary that the Son of God, equal to His
Father, by becoming man without ceasing
to be God, should render Himself capable
of communicating to His obedience an in
finite value, in order to infuse into it in
finite love, infinite holiness, infinite merit.
The Word Incarnate rendered such an obe
dience in the full extent exacted by the
Father to satisfy His justice, propitiate His
mercy, expiate man's disobedience, and ob
tain pardon for the guilty. And thus by
" the obedience of the new Adam, all His
sons have been justified — Ita et per unius
obeditionem justi constituents multi."
While Jesus rendered that obedience in
the terrible trials imposed upon Him by the
justice of the Father, He seemed Himself
280 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
to be accursed by God. What were those
trials? Poverty, exile, labor, fasting, pri
vations, temptation, contradictions, the
abandonment of ingratitude, the persecu
tions of hatred, calumnious and infamous
accusations. They were ignominy and tor
ment, the intolerable struggle of a double
agony, and lastly, death itself, in which,
cursed by man, He appeared also accursed
by God. To nerve Himself to endure to the
end, He thought of us, of our deliverence,
of our reinstatement in grace.
REPARATION.
Disobedience is the fundamental, the uni
versal evil. It is the concrete form and the
bitter fruit of pride. It is the essence and
the substance of every sin. Whatever may
be the diverse objects, the specific nature,
and the particular circumstances of any sin
whatsoever, it is radically and before all a
disobedience. It exists only by the viola
tion of some law. St. Thomas has well de
fined it: " Factum, dictum, concupitum
aut cogitatum contra legem divinam — a
thought, a desire, a word, a deed contrary
to the divine law, contrary to the will of
God manifested by some law."
Eighteenth Day. 281
What constitutes the malice of disobedi
ence is the injury that it does to the
sovereign rights of God and the disorder
that it introduces into the relations of the
creature with his Creator. In the sight of
God, it is the denial of His sovereign right
over the most noble work of His hands. But
God's right is confounded with His will
and with His very Being. Disobedience is,
then, the negation of God, an apostasy, and
a practical form of atheism: " Initium su-
perbiae hominis est apostatare a Deo — The
beginning of man's pride is a turning away
from God." In man, it is disregard of his
essentially dependent situation with respect
to God; 'and therein lies the fundamental
disorder. Inasmuch as he is a creature, it
is absolutely necessary for man to depend
upon the Creator. This dependence he
should acknowledge by obeying His will in
whatever wav He may be pleased to exer
cise it over him. Created, that is, begin
ning to exist, man tends to the fulfilment
of his being, namelv, to his end; and He
alone who called him into existence can
conduct him to his end.
Of necessity, then, man depends on God ;
but God having created him free, he should
282 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
recognize the legitimacy of his dependence
and accept it without constraint. To ac
cept it, is to obey; to deny it, is to disobey.
The consequences of obedience are virtue,
merit, and recompense; those of disobedi
ence are sin and chastisement.
Such is the teaching of the Holy Spirit:
" God made man from the beginning, and
left him in the hand of his own counsel. He
added His commandments and precepts:
' If thou wilt keep the commandments and
perform acceptable fidelity forever, they
shall preserve thee.' . . . Before man
are life and death, good and evil — Ante
hominem, vita et mors, bonum et malum.
That which he shall chosse shall be given
him: Quod placurit ci, dabitnr illi"(l).
PETITION.
We can ask for nothing better or more
useful than for our heart to have some re
semblance to that of our Saviour. He
warns us by the example of David that He
finds no heart like unto His own excepting
that which " does all His wills," that is, a
heart perfectly obedient: " Inveni David
(l\ Eccles. xv, 14.
Eighteenth Day. 283
secundum Cor meitm, qni faciet omnes
voluntates meas" (1).
If we wish to make progress in obedience,
let us reanimate in our soul faith, love, and
humility, the elements of this capital virtue.
Faith, throwing light upon the end of
obedience, shows us in those clothed with
authority the majesty of God, Jesus Christ
Himself. It- is to Him alone, in reality,
that we submit our will, our reason, our
judgment itself. Are we not assured that
" he who hears the Church and all those
that have received authority from her, hears
Christ: Qui vos audit, me audit?" Faith,
removing the veil of appearances, shows us
in the things we have to do, the orders we
have to execute, different forms of the one
only substantial thing, the sweet and amia
ble will of God alone. We shall be, then,
according to the teaching of St. Peter,
" Children of obedience," like unto the Son
of God, who saw in everything only His
Father and His will, " not fashioned ac
cording to the former desires of your ig
norance: Quasi Ulii obcdicntiae, secundum
eum qui vocavit vos, sanctum" (2).
(1) Act. xiii, 22.
(2) I. Peter i, 14.
284 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Let us reanimate in our soul the love of
the Heavenly Father by accomplishing His
will ; the love of Jesus Christ, by following
and glorifying Him, and by the acknowledg
ment of His sovereign rights; the love of
our neighbor set over us by obeying him;
the love of our brethren by serving them in
obedience. Divine love animating our
obedience, will purify and ennoble our soul,
banishing servile fear which would debase
it by hypocrisy, and mercenary interest
which would render it narrow by egotism:
" Animos vestras castific antes in obedientia
charitatis — Purifying your souls in the obe
dience of charity "(I). Love alone can
give us strength to confront the sacrifices,
the forgetfulness of self, the privations, and
sometimes the confusion that is met in obey
ing; for to be perfectly accomplished in
every point, the law must be loved,
cherished, followed, and fulfilled with a sort
of passion far above that which seeks after
earthly advantages. To the obedient heart,
David says: " ' Dilexi mandata tua super
aurum et topazion — I have loved Thy com
mandments above gold and the topaz "(2).
(1) Ibid. 22.
(2) Ps. cxviii, 127.
Eighteenth Day. 285
Thus taught Jesus, the Great Master, the
ideal, and the persuasive model of obedi
ence : " If you keep My commandments,
you shall abide in My love ; as I have also
kept My Father's commandments, and do
abide in His love "(1).
Beg Our Lord to increase your faith in
the Real Presence.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have pity on
us!
(300 days' Indulgence.)
(1) John xv, 10
IRineteentb
OBEDIENCE, THE GLORIOUS HOMAGE OF THE
EUCHARISTIC HEART.
ADORATION.
THE Son of God, obedience personified:
" Factus obediens," lived only to love, to
cultivate, and to satisfy the demands of obe
dience. During the thirty years of humble
labor at Nazareth: " Et erat subditus illis
—He was subject to them." During the
three years of His apostolate, His " bread/'
that which He loved above everything else
and upon which He lived, was to accom
plish the will of God who sent Him : " Meus
cibus cst ut faciam voluntatem ejus qui misit
me" (1). During His Passion, on the
terrible eve of that most agonizing last day
of His life, to which He gave Himself up to
testify to the world with what love He
would fulfil the Father's commands, He
clung to obedience : " Ut cognoscat mun-
dus quid diligo Patrem et sicut mandatum
dedit inihi Pater, sic facio, surgite eamus
(1) John iv, 34.
286 >
Nineteenth Day. 287
hind — That the world may know that I
love the Father, and as the Father hath
given Me commandment, so do I. Arise, let
us go hence ! "(1)
Lastly, to perpetuate here below under
the humiliating yoke of human masters and
in conditions of dependence and abasement
which surpass all that He endured during
His mortal life, to perpetuate an obedience
which in heaven is all glory and felicity, He
delivered Himself to His Apostles and gave
to every priest full power over His Body
and Blood by binding Himself in the fetters
of the sacramental state. Every day of the
world, even to the very last, shall we see this
almighty God, this King of the nations,
crowned with glory, " obeying the voice of
a man," laboring and suffering for the good
of a redeemed people : " Obediente Domino
voci hominis et pugnante pro Israel! "(2)
Is obedience, then, so great, so noble, so
beautiful as to have power to allure, to con
quer, to captivate the Son of God to such
a degree ? Ah ! it is to God the most glor
ious homage that He can receive from His
creatures. It is the homage of their in-
(1) Ibid, xiv, 31.
(2) Jos. x, 14.
288 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
telligent will, the spiritual sacrifice of their
immortal soul, the free gift of their meritor
ious life, offered by love to His good pleas
ure: " Melior est obedientia quam vic-
timae "(1). It is for man true sanctity and
consummate perfection: " Deum time et
mandata ejus observa; hoc est enim omnis
homo.— Fear God and keep His command
ments, for this is all man "(2).
" Beholding Jesus Christ rendering obe
dience to all priests whether good or bad,"
says Blessed Margaret Mary, " and placing
Himself in their hands to die mystically,
concealing Himself in the Host that, with
out showing any resistance, He may be im
molated and sacrificed according to their de
signs, I am prompt at the call of obedience.
Like a host of immolation, I place myself
in the hands of my superiors for whatever
they may command that, dying to my own
will, to my passions, inclinations, and aver
sions, they may dispose of me as they please
without my allowing the repugnance I may
feel to appear.
" And the violence I shall have to do my
self will be to honor that which Jesus does
(1) Matt, ix, 13.
(2) Eccles. xii, 13.
Nineteenth Day. 289
Himself on entering souls sullied by sin.
He has such horror for these souls that
every time He enters them, He there renews
the mortal agony of the Garden of Olives."
THANKSGIVING.
At the moment in which He offered Him
self freely to suffer for the crimes of all
and to assume their burden, He recalled the
Father's promise : " If He shall lay down
His life for sin, He shall see a long-lived
seed — Si posuerit pro peccato animain suam,
videbit semen longcevum" (1). Of His
sufferings and His obedience, mingled with
His Blood, He formed remedies to cure us
of the evil of independence and all the dis
orders it brings with it : " Cujus livore
sanati sumus — By His bruises we are
healed." In His obedience, He multiplied
the most perfect acts, examples the most
sublime of all the virtues, in order to induce
us to imitate them and to teach us obedience
sanctified and perfect: " Passus est pro
nobis, vobis relinquens exemplum, ut sequa-
mini vestigia ejus — Christ also suffered for
us, leaving you an example that you should
(1) Is. liii, 10.
290 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
follow in His steps "(1). Lastly, in this
rude school of obedience, and tried by all
kinds of sorrows, He formed for Himself
a Heart of infinite compassion to bear with
all our difficulties, struggles, and even falls,
in the fulfilment of the perpetual and univer
sal duty of obedience, which is the very
foundation of man's life here below : " He
learned obedience by the things which He
suffered — Didicit ex eis qu<z passus est obe
dient iani "(2).
And now, become by His sacramental
state obedience consummated, mercifully
continuing before our eyes the lessons of the
humblest, the meekest, the most heroic, and
the most persevering obedience, He gives
Himself as the food, the strength, the con
solation, and the pledge of infinite reward
to all who, in order to reign with Him, bind
themselves to Him till death in the bonds
of Christian charity : " And being con
summated, He became to all that obey Him,
the cause of eternal salvation — Et consum-
matus, factus est omnibus obtemperantibus
sibi, causa salutis aternce " (3) .
(1)1 Peter ii, 21.
(2) Heb. v, 8.
(3) Ibid. 9.
Nineteenth Day. 291
Once when Blessed Margaret Mary had
some difficulty in submitting to obedience,
the Divine Master let her see His sacred
Body covered with the wounds that He had
received for her love. He reproached her
with ingratitude and with tepidity in over
coming herself for love of Him. " What
dost Thou will me to do, O My God," she
asked, " since my will is stronger than I ? "
Jesus told her that, if she would place it in
the wound of His Sacred Side, she would
have no trouble in surmounting self. " O
my Saviour," she exclaimed, " do Thou
place it therein so deeply and shut it up so
securely that it can never come out ! " She
tells us that from that moment everything
appeared to her so easy that she never again
had any difficulty in overcoming herself.
REPARATION.
Man, alas! disdains to receive from the
Most High the light to guide him in his
way. He pretends to have, like God Him
self, the knowledge of good and evil ; there
fore choosing death by despising the divine
commandment, he is condemned to dark
ness and torture for time and eternity. It
is just that, refusing to obey God willingly,
292 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
he should be chained in spite of himself
under the murderous yoke of the leader of
all revolts. It is just that, not having
wished to accomplish the noble commands
of the Lord and of His Church, he should
be obliged to submit to the cruel and ig
nominious caprices of the demons and to the
reprobate. The confession they are then
obliged to make, can do them no good:
" For we have not obeyed Thy command
ments, therefore are we delivered to spoil
and to captivity and to death, and are made
a fable and a reproach to all nations! "(I).
It is true that every disobedience is not
opposed to the absolute will of the Creator,
and does not carry with it a total revolt of
the human will. A great number of these
acts of disobedience regard things not im
posed upon us as necessary. Respecting
the substance of the precepts, some souls
violate only the accidental circumstances ;
others only half comprehend or half will.
These are slight disobediences, partial or
venial. God punishes them with temporal
pains during life or after, in order to pardon
them in the end.
(1) Tob. iii, 4.
Nineteenth Day. 293
But whatever they be, they displease His
Heart. If He at once casts the gravely dis
obedient into the abyss of death, He de
clares His Heart turned away from those
tepid souls that disobey in all things. He
threatens to " vomit them out of His
mouth.'' Let us seriously examine our
selves upon this capital point of the Chris
tian life. Let us remember that the most
deeply rooted inclination of fallen nature,
the most impetuous, the most difficult to
destroy or even to repress, is the passion
of independence, of resistance to authority,
and tendency to disobedience. Let us listen
to the severe admonitions on this subject
given by the Sacred Heart to the most in
timate confidante of Its thoughts, Blessed
Margaret Mary:
"•My Divine Master having ordered me
to rise every night between Thursday and
Friday, in order to recite five Pater and
Ave prostrate on the ground, I replied to
Him : ' My Lord, Thou knowest that I am
not my own, and that I shall do what my
superioress orders me.' ' I do not intend
it otherwise.' replied my Lord ; ' for, all-
powerful as I am, I desire nothing from
thee but in dependence on thy superioress/ "
294 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Hearken to these words from the mouth of
Truth : " All religious disunited and sepa •
rated from their superiors, must be looke-l
upon as vessels of reprobation, in whom ah
good liquors are changed into corruption,
and upon whom the Divine Sun of Justice-
darting His rays, produces the same effect
as the sun shining upon mire. Such souls
are so utterly rejected by My Heart that,
the more they try to approach Me by the
Sacraments, prayer, and other exercises, the
more I withdraw from them in horror. They
will fall from one hell to another, for it is
this disunion that has lost so many, and that
will lose so many more. Since every su
perior holds My place, be he good or bad,
the inferior who injures him wounds his
own soul in the same measure. It is vain
for him after so doing to weep at the door
of My mercy. He shall not be heard."
PETITION.
Lastly, humility, that perfect form of the
religious fear of God, will bow our neck
under the yoke of obedience, will bend our
will to that of superiors, so that we shall
even prefer the non-success of obedience to
the success of revolt. Like the proud, alas !
Nineteenth Day. 295
v.c have in our excitement and eagerness,
preferred the present and deceitful satis
factions of disobedience. Lacking humility,
we have not sought the conscientious and
lasting observance of the divine command
ments: " Deum time et mandata ejus ob-
serva — Fear God and keep His command
ments." Therefore it is that, wishing to
propose the yoke of His law, sweet but in
evitable, the Divine Master manifested His
meek and humble Heart to all men crushed
under the weight of inexorable obligations,
that they may seek in It, as in an inexhaust
ible source, humility, meekness, and sweet
ness, without which it is impossible for obe
dience to be sincere or lasting : " Discite
quia mitis sum et humilis Corde: tollite
jugum meum super vos: Jugum enim meum
suave est et onus meum leve — Learn that I
am meek and humble of Heart : take up My
yoke upon you, for My yoke is sweet and
My burden light."
After having earnestly implored grace of
the most obedient Heart of Jesus, which we
adore in the consummation of obedience in
the Blessed Sacrament, let us take the reso
lution to obey, each in his own state, every
law to which we are subject, every superior
296 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
who has authority over us. Let us obey all
the general obligations of the Christian con
tained in the Gospel, in the commandments
of God and of the Church, in the liturgical
laws. Let us render obedience to all the
Decrees, all the directions of the Sovereign
Pontiff, the universal Pastor, and to the law
ful ordinances of diocesan Bishops. Let us,
each in what concerns him, obey the laws
that regulate particular states ; for instance,
the laws of marriage, of trade, of public
functions, of the priesthood, and of the re
ligious state. Let us render obedience to
those that have a right to exact it ; wives to
their husbands, children to parents, servants
to masters, employees and workmen to em
ployers, subjects to the legitimate laws and
to magistrates, parishioners to their pastors,
penitents to confessors, religious to su
periors, vicars to rectors, priests to their
Bishop. It is at this price that notable vic
tories of the spirit over the flesh are gained,
of humility over pride, and the public ascen
dency of Christians over the enemies of their
Faith : " Vir obediens loquetur victorias--
The obedient man shall speak of vic
tories !"(!)
(1) Prov. xxi, 28.
Nineteenth Day. 297
" Lord, give to Thy servant a docile
heart: Dabis servo tuo cor docile!"
Ask Our Eucharistic Lord to increase
your spirit of recollection.
Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament,
pray for us.
(300 days' Indulgence, when said before
the Blessed Sacrament exposed.)
ftwentietb
THE FIDELITY OF THE HEART OF JESUS.
Invenisti Cor ejus fidele.
Thou didst find His Heart faithful.— II. Es-
dras IX, 8.
SUBJECT. — The fidelity which we are now
going to consider is not that which Jesus
testified to His Father in His love for Him
by the accomplishment of His will even it
the cost of His life, but that which urged
Him to love us and help us without fail,
standing faithfully by all the promises which
His gratuitous love made to mankind. It is
the Heart of " the faithful Friend/' the
treasure-house of His tender mercies to us,
that we are going to adore, bless, and in
voke. It is the Heart which revealed how
far Its fidelity extends by these words whose
full meaning we shall understand only in
heaven : " Behold this Heart which has so
loved men that It has spared nothing, even
to exhausting and consuming Itself to testify
to them Its love ! "
298
Twentieth Day. 29t)
ADORATION.
Fidelity of Heart is one of the distinctive
moral characteristics of the Incarnate Word.
He had announced it by His prophet in order
that men might with more confidence await
His coming upon earth : From the root of
Jesse, shall be born the virginal rod (Mary),
which shall be crowned by the magnificent
rose (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit shall fill
Him with the Spirit of wisdom and of un
derstanding, the spirit of counsel and of for
titude, the spirit of knowledge and of godli
ness, of piety, and the fear of the Lord.
" And fidelity shall be the girdle of His
reins — Et crit fides cmctorium renum
ejus"(\). As the girdle closely clasps the
body and forms for it a support, so does
fidelity envelop the Heart of Jesus and pre
vent Its ever swerving from Its promises to
help us. The girdle, which gathers the
clothing in graceful folds around the per
son, is, likewise, the symbol of love. The
Heavenly Spouse appeared in His glory,
" His breast, that is His Heart, supported
by a cincture of gold : Praecinctum ad ma-
(i) Is. xi., 5.
300 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
inillas zona aurea" (1). It was certainly
of the Heart of Jesus that Isaias prophesied
when he depicted It gloriously encircled by
the bands of invincible fidelity.
It is meet that the most perfect of all
hearts should possess this perfection, which
is " the most sacred treasure of the human
heart, the honor of Divinity as well as of
humanity: Sacratissimum humani pectoris
bonum" (2). According to Eternal Wis
dom it is the most precious of all treasures
and the most assured of all protection.
" Amicus Udells protectio fortis; qui autem
invenit ilium, invenit thesaurum — A faith
ful friend is a strong defence, and
he that hath found him hath found
a treasure "(3). It is not upon honor,
honesty, fidelity — these three are one and
the same — that rest all relations between
mankind and God Himself? Do they not
form the bonds of friendship, the peace and
joy of the domestic circle, the security of
(1) Cur ad mamillas cingitur Christus? Quia
Cor Christi, quod est inter mamillas, plenum est
charitate. Corn, a Lap. in Apoc. I, 13.
(2) Seneca, Ep. SQ.—Decus divumque hom-
inu-mque. {Cicero, Lib. I. offic.)
(3) Ecclus. vi, 14.
Twentieth Day. 301
business transactions, our confidence in
prayer and every religious exercise? He
that is faithful, no matter what his condi
tion, perhaps that of a lowly servant, merits
esteem and affection : " Si est tibi servus
fi delis, sit tibi quasi anima tua: quasi fratrem
tuum sic cum tract a — If thou have a faith
ful servant, let him be to thee as thy own
soul : treat him as a brother, because in the
blood of thy soul thou hast gotten him "(1).
Alas, it is too true ! Fidelity is very rare
on this earth. We do, indeed, often find
hearts capable of pity, ready to perform an
act of devotedness at their own time and
convenience ; but fidelity implies disinterest
edness, devotedness and constancy under
every form, and that is very difficult to the
heart wounded by original sin. At the bot
tom of that heart lie egoism, weakness, and
inconstancy : " Multi homines misericor-
des vocantur: virum autem fidelem, quis in-
venietf — Many men are called merciful, but
who shall find a faithful man? "(2)
How good, then, it is for our poor heart,
always deceived both by itself and others,
(1) Ibid, xxxiii, 31.
(2) Prov. xx, 6.
21
302 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
to contemplate and adore in all security the
fidelity without fail or weakness of that only
One who can in truth be called " the faithful
Friend: Amicus Udells!" He is our ef
ficacious and ever present help: Protectio
fortis, whose heart is a treasury of every
kind of fidelity : " Et qui invenit ilium, in-
venit thesaurum!"
The Heart of Jesus bears in Itself the
eternal fidelity of God, along with His muni
ficent liberality, His infallible truth, and His
very Being: " Fidelis Dominus in omnibus:
verbis suis — The Lord is faithful in all His.
words "(1). The Heart of Jesus pos
sesses human fidelity under all the forms in
which it can be exhibited: the fidelity of a
father remaining with his children that they
may not be left orphans ; the fidelity of the
shepherd going before his sheep to lead them
to good pasture, and to give his life in their
defence against the wolf ; the fidelity of the
priest praying indefatigably for the needs of
his people ; the fidelity of the Spouse toward
the Church, which He daily washes in His
Blood and feeds with His Flesh ; lastly, the
fidelity of the Friend who said to His,
(1) Ps. cxliv, 13.
Twentieth Day. 303
Apostles invited to His table, and in them to
all men who communicate : " I will not now
call you servants, but I call you My friends,
because all things whatsoever I have re
ceived from My Father, I have made known
to you, and I shall be with you all days even
to the end of the world,"
Let us adore the Heart of the faithful
Friend, Its truth, sincerity, and the generos
ity and abundance of Its fidelity. Let us
abandon ourselves unreservedly to Its
fidelity !
" I constitute thee heiress of My Heart
and all Its treasures for time and for eter
nity, and I permit thee to use them accord
ing to thy desires. I promise thee help shall
fail thee only when My Heart shall fail in
power." (Words of Our Lord to Blessed
Margaret Mary.)
THANKSGIVING.
Nothing is so beautiful as fidelity. The
Holy Spirit does not hesitate to say:
" Amico Udeli nulla est comparatio, et non
est digna ponderatio auri vel argenti contra
bonitatem fidei illius — Nothing can be com
pared to a faithful friend, and no weight of
gold and silver is able to countervail the
304 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
goodness of his fidelity "( 1 ). A friend
is a gift of God above all gifts, and he who
has it possesses a benefit above all benefits.
Considered even in the natural light, fidelity
is peace of heart, security in the present,
certitude for the future, assurance in daily
relations with the neighbor, confidence in
the communication of secrets and sorrows
the most delicate. It means sincere and de
voted concurrence in time of need, assured
help, the sharing of difficulties, and, in cases
of misfortune, the continuation of esteem
and affection along with the presence of the
trusted one. We may say that, among all
the goods of the heart, it is the treasure.
What will not be the fidelity of the Divine
Friend, whose Heart is full of infinite love,
of all the noble affections that dispose Him
to be the unique Saviour of men?
The friendship of Jesus is entirely
gratuitous, entirely disinterested, for He is
always the first to love, and that without
any other end in view than to do good. It
accommodates itself to the needs, to the
character, the situation of each, being full of
knowledge, experience, and condescension.
(1) Ecclus. vi, 15.
Twentieth Day. 305
Jesus, as the Sovereign Master of all forces,
disposes of all creatures and of all help, and
nothing can oppose His all-powerful action.
He is faithful during life and, when death
draws near, His fidelity in time is changed
into eternal fidelity, over which time in its
ravages has no power.
From the moment that God created us in
pure love, His fidelity encompassed us with
His promises of eternal life, for He created
us to His own image and likeness in order to
make us live forever of His own life and to
enjoy His endless happiness. When revolt
and ingratitude separated us from God, His
fidelity became the mercy which called us all
to His Heart that He might create us anew,
sweeten our yoke, and lighten our burden.
He redeemed us at the price of His Blood,
engaged to feed us every day with His own
Flesh, and to abandon us never. It is His
fidelity that brings Him to our bedside when
death and Satan assault our life of body and
soul. He comes to reassure us in the throes
of our last agony, and He says to us : " May
the Body of Christ guard thy soul to eternal
life ! " Lastly, His fidelity judges us and,,
if we have been faithful, pronounces over
us these words of supreme love, which will
306 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
introduce us into the peace of beatitude:
" Come, ye blessed of the Father. Possess
the kingdom that has been prepared for you
from all eternity ! "
Can we ever magnify as It deserves the
Heart of the faithful Christ, we who are the
creation, the redemption, the only solicitude
of His fidelity : " Vir Udells multum lauda-
bitur? — A faithful man shall be much
praised?" (1)
" My heart is so passionately enamored of
men that, not being able to contain in Itself
the flames of Its ardent charity, It must of
necessity spread them around by thy means.
It must manifest Itself to them in order to
enrich them with Its precious treasures,
whose sanctifying and necessary graces will
withdraw them from the abyss of perdition.'
(Words of Our Lord to Blessed Margaret
Mary.)
REPARATION.
The purest and most abundant source of
contrition is, without doubt, the love of God
and of His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Whoever can rouse in his soul the sentiment
of the infinite loveliness of God, which his
(1) Prov. xxviii, 20.
Twentieth Day. 307
sins have despised by preferring to it the
very limited charms of the creature; who
ever has comprehended with what love God
has loved him, whether in creating him or
in filling his life with His benefits, who
ever seizes the mystery of Jesus' dying for
him and of making Himself his Eucharist ;
whoever beholds himself still loved, pro
tected, called to pardon, in spite of his te-
pedity and malice, in spite of the number of
his sins, must feel his heart rent with sor
row and abased with salutary shame. He
must be filled with love for this God of
mercy, he must return to Him by a sincere
and lasting conversion, a conversion that
can be effected by perfect love alone.
Nothing can so powerfully enkindle this
flame of moral resurrection as the sight of
the fidelity of the merciful Friend making
Himself for those that He has not ceased
to love, in spite of their wanderings, " the
medicine of life and immortality," which
raises up from the dead and cures all
wounds: (( Amicus Udells medicamentum
vitae et immortalitatis." When fidelity is
exercised toward a being who is unfaithful
ness personified, it shows itself magnani
mous and sublime — sin being, in the mind,
308
The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
only a want of faith in the divine word
which orders or prohibits, a want of confi
dence in the word that promises the recom
pense, of fear for the word that threatens
chastisements ; in the heart, only ingratitude
and forgetfulness of the Sovereign Benefac
tor ; and in the will, only the refusal of obe
dience and a revolt against divine authority.
It is toward this unfaithful one that the
faithful Heart exercises Its invincible
fidelity by pardoning him, supporting him,
and reinstating him in all the goods that he
had forfeited ! It is here, too, that fidelity
manifests its sovereign goodness, for it
comes to the succor of a being condemned to
the most dreadful punishments both in time
and in eternity, and in the absolute impos
sibility of freeing himself or even of lessen
ing the evils that encompass him, either by
his own efforts or those of any other crea
ture. God alone can remit sin and raise
from spiritual death, which surely leads to
eternal death if, faithful to its need of par
doning and to the law that He has deigned
to make for Himself, His mercy does not
intervene : " Amicus Udells medicamentum
vitae et immortalitatis — A faithful friend is
the medicine of life and immortalitv."
Twentieth Day. 309
The Gospel abounds in touching examples
of this ministry of merciful fidelity, because
the Gospel is the history of the Son of God
made Man to save men from their sins. St.
Peter is a perfect example of it. Jesus is
faithful to warn him of the danger that he
runs by his presumption; faithful to pray
that his faith may not fail, since Satan de
manded to sift him like wheat; faithful to
exhort him to vigilance and to prayer in
order to strengthen him against approach
ing temptation. And as soon as Peter, for
getful of these warnings, had fallen into the
unfaithfulness of the triple denial, the faith
ful Friend, though in the midst of His own
sufferings, endeavored to catch his eye, to
cast upon him a look of tender reproach and
infinite clemency, which revived faith in the
heart of the poor renegade, and drew from
his eyes torrents of reparative tears. Then,
after His Resurrection, faithful to render to
Peter the rights with which He had honored
him, Jesus appeared to him first before all
the others, and drew from him in the pres
ence of his fellow-disciples the triple con
fession of faithful love, which forever ef
faced the remembrance of his former in
fidelity.
22
310 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
To sinners at all times, the Saviour has
assured the fidelity of His pardon by institut
ing in the daily effusion of His Blood, the
Sacrament that remits all sin: "Hie est
Sanguis ineus in remissionem pec-
catorum — This is My Blood . . . for
the remission of sins."
It was the merciful fidelity of the Sacred
Heart that permitted St. John, who knew all
the secrets of the Heart upon which he had
reposed, to write these consoling and re
assuring words for us poor sinners : " My
little children, these things I write to you
that you may not sin. But if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the Just. And He is the propitiation
for our sins, and not for ours only, but also
for those of the whole world " (1).
" It desires to draw many souls from eter
nal perdition, for this Divine Heart is like a
fortress and a secure asylum for all poor
sinners who wish to take refuge therein, in
order to shun Divine Justice in Its just
anger which, like an impetuous torrent,
would drown with their sins those sinners
who excite the divine wrath." (Words of
Our Lord to Blessed Margaret Mary.)
(i) I John ii, i.
Twentieth Day. 311
PETITION.
The first means of securing for one's
self the divine fidelity is earnestly to de
mand it of the grace of God, for " a faith
ful friend is a gift from God to them that
fear Him and pray to Him: Amiens Udells
et qui metuant Dominum inveniunt il
ium" God loves whom He pleases, and
gives Himself to whom He pleases. His
choice is free, and we have nothing in us
that can merit it. " Fidelis Dens . . per
quern vocatl estis in societatem Filii ejus
Jesu — God is faithful: by whom you are
called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus
Christ Our Lord"(l). To those that He
had drawn around Him in the closest, the
most familiar, the most tender of friend
ships, the Divine Master said : " It is not
you who have chosen Me. By the dulness
of your intellect, the narrowness of your
heart, the impurity of your soul, you were
incapable of doing so ; and again, even when
become man such as you are, I am by My
divine filiation above your reach : Non vos
me degistis. But it pleased Me to single
you out from the multitude and to bow
(i) I Cor. i, 9.
312 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
down of My own accord to you, to instruct
you, to purify and enrich you in order to
elevate you to Me. It is, then, I who have
chosen you : Sed ego elegi vos. Remain
in Me, remain in My love which has made
you My friends, and never cease to deserve
by your humility and fidelity the continua
tion of it : Manete in me, manete in dilec-
tione me a."
The second means of securely enjoying
the fidelity of Jesus is to believe in Him
firmly, confidently, lovingly, in submission
and abandonment to His guidance. " Cre-
ditis in Deum? Et in me credited Ye be
lieve in God, did He say to His Apostles, in
His wisdom, in His truth, in His power, in
His goodness? Well then, believe in Me in
the same manner: Et in me credite! This
is the condition that He laid down for an
swering all those that demand of Him
miracles of cure or conversion : " Credis in
Filium Dei?" And He predicted to Nico-
demus that the miracles which they should
see, would be great in proportion to their
faith.
There is question now of believing in the
fidelity of the Heart of Jesus. First, to be
lieve that His help will never fail, especi-
Twentieth Day. 313
ally in things necessary to our salvation,
such as to shun sin, to resist temptations, to
fulfil our duties ; for " He is faithful, and
He will not permit us to be tempted above
our strength." Still more, He will turn
our temptations to our profit, and make us
find in them strength to resist even to the
end: ff Fidelis Deus est qui non patietur
vos tentari supra id quod potestis, sed faciet
cum tentatione proventum, ut possitis sus-
tinere — God is faithful, who will not suffer
you to be tempted above that which you are
able : but will make also with temptation
issue, that you may be able to bear it "(1).
We must believe, also, that He will never
fail to assist us in our trials, of what kind
soever they may be. He will either deliver
us from them or He will give us the strength
to accept them, provided that, being in a
state of grace, we implore His help with
confidence, humility, and perseverance. He
has even engaged Himself thereto by oath :
" Si manseritis in me, quodcumque volueri-
tis petetis, et fief vobls — If you abide in Me,
and My words abide in you, you shall ask
whatever you will, and it shall be done unto
(1) I Cor. x, 13.
314 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
you "(I)- Lastly, we must believe in the
eternal justifications of His fidelity, and that
He has in reserve for us heavenly rewards
that infinitely surpass all the riches of which,
in spite of our confidence in Him and all
our prayers, we have, by His permission,
been deprived here below. I* it not for
this reason that He can without irony say
to us that the poor, the afflicted, the per
secuted are happy here below, since poverty,
sufferings and tears assure them infallibly
the kingdom of Heaven, which is the pos
session of the infinite God ?
Let us, then, believe unreservedly and un
hesitatingly in the fidelity of the Heart of
our Friend. Let us abandon ourselves to it,
knowing that, according to His word, " the
will of the Father is that whosoever believes
in Him shall suffer neither hunger nor
thirst, and shall possess life everlast-
ing!(2)
" When I present my little requests to my
Divine Master, above all those which ap
pear difficult to obtain, it seems to me that
I hear these words : ' Dost thou believe
(1) John xv, 7.
(2) John vi, 35, 40.
Twentieth Day. 315
that I can do it? If thou dost believe, thou
shalt see the power of My Heart in the
magnificence of My love ! ' And again,
seeing the progress of what I had so much
desired, He said to me : ' Did I not tell
thee that, if thou wouldst believe, thou
shouldst see thy desires accomplished?'
(Words of Our Lord to Blessed Margaret
Mary.)
Pray that you may have true reverence
for the House of God.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, let Thy Kingdom
come !
(300 days' Indulgence.)
ZEwent^fim
THE SWEETNESS OF THE HEART OF JESUS.
THE Challenge of our dear Sister Novices
will be sweetness . . . (1) In order to
practise it, they will look upon Our Lord
in the Most Blessed Sacrament as their
good Master who says to them : " Learn of
Me to be meek and humble of heart, other
wise you cannot be loved nor recognized
by My Sacred Heart, which will not ac
knowledge you for Its disciples unless you
form yourselves on It by the practice of Its
holy maxims." It was thus that Blessed
Margaret Mary urged souls on to the imi
tation of one of the two virtues which the
Saviour proposed as the dominant virtues
of His Heart. It is this sweetness, this
meekness, this gentleness that we are go
ing to bless and adore in Him. It is for
it that we shall petition after having de
plored the faults into which we have been
led by our infidelity to this capital virtue of
Christianity.
(1) A challenge is an invitation to the practice
of some special virtue.
316
Twenty-first Day. 317
ADORATION.
Meekness is planted in the soul by nature
to help to moderate impatience, to conquer
wrath, and to repress the desire of ven
geance. Grace elevates it, perfects it and,
impregnating- it with supernatural love,
transforms it into the crowning expression
of divine charity. It is, then, one of the
" fruits of the Holy Spirit" (1), one of
those effusions which flow from His per
sonal presence in the just soul, one of those
forces which He never ceases to excite and
keep alive, in order to manifest His divine
life. It is, also, one of those " beatitudes "
which rouse to fervor in the practice of
virtue and mingle joy with the sacrifices
it imposes. Calming the soul against the
tumult of anger and the movements of
rancor, so easily raised, it inclines it to
goodness and benevolence, to patience and
the pardon of injuries. Like oil on the
troubled sea, which stills the angry waves,
meekness mingles with our relations with
one another and sweetens them. It shows
itself in the benevolent glance and smile,
in the affable word, in the preventing salu-
(1) Gal. v, 23.
318 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
tation, in the moderate gesture and the
modest attitude, in amiable condescension
toward all, especially the lowly. It is, in
deed, a noble, beneficent, and beautiful vir
tue, the one among all others especially
pleasing to God, the one that conquers men's
hearts : " Quod beneplacitum est ei, fides
et mansuetudo " ( 1 ) .
But it is in Thy Heart that it appears in
all its enchanting beauty, O sweet Jesus!
Thou hast a good right to call us all to
study it therein, to contemplate it as a mar
vel worthy of adoration and admiration:
" Discite a me quid mitis sum Corde. —
Learn of Me that I am meek and humble of
Heart." There lies the infinite sweetness
of Thy Divine Nature, which is " Meekness
and sweetness in their very essence:
Quoniam tu Domine suavis et mitis
es"(2). It is the entire plenitude of
sweetness which " the most sweet Spirit
of God "(3) willed to create in heaven and
upon earth, and which He laid up in Thy
Heart : " Spiritus Domini super me, eo
(1) Ecclus. i, 35. Ps. xxxvi, 11.
(2) Joel ii, 13.
(3) Wisd. xii, 1.
Twenty-first Day. 319
quod uiLverit me "(I). There is con
tained the sweetness that Thou didst will
to practise with all Thy Heart in order to
accomplish Thy mission of servant of God
and Saviour of men. It is the fruit of Thy
experience of our miseries and the expres
sion of Thy compassion for our innumera
ble evils : " In eo enim in quo passus est
ipse et tentatus, potens est ct eis qui ten-
tot us desirderabilis " ( 3) .
The sweetness that issues from Thy
Heart so profoundly penetrates all Thy
powers, clothes Thy whole being with such
charms that, making of Thee the Incarnate
Sweetness, the Sweetness poured out, it
renders Thee perfectly amiable and desir
able : " Guttur Dilecti mei suavissimum, ct
totus desirderabilis " ( 3 ) .
It is not to be wondered at, therefore,
that the Sacrament which has issued from
the Heart of Jesus as the ripe fruit of His
most tender love and which maintains Jesus
Himself in the truth of His two natures
and in the experience of our miseries, con
tains sweetness in its every form : " Panem
(1) Is. Ixi, 1.
(2) Heb. ii, 18.
(3) Cant, v, 6.
320 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
in se habentem omnis saporis suavitatem,"
and should be the convincing demonstration
of the sweetness of God and of His Son
Jesus: " Substantia tua dulcedinem tuai.i
quam in filios habes ostendebat "(1).
Lord, I will approach Thy Sacrament, I
will penetrate even to Thy Heart, I will
plunge therein ! I will eat It, and I shall be
nourished by It in truth. After having
tasted Its honey on my lips: " Fructus ejus
dulcis gutturi meo"(2), I shall live on
the ever present thought of Thy supera
bundant sweetness : " Memoriam abun-
dantice suavitatis tua entctabunt " (3) .
THANKSGIVING.
How well it is for us that Jesus, desiring
to submit us to His empire, to instruct us
in His doctrine, and to direct us in the
ways which lead to God, has founded all
His rights on the sweetness of His Heart,
and placed in It the chief means of leading
us to Himself: " Discite a me quid mitis
sum Corde: Come to My school and tread
in My footsteps, because I am meek of
(1) Wisd. xvi, 20, 21.
'2) Cant, ii, 3.
3) Ps. cxliv, 7.
Twenty-first Day. 321
Heart. My yoke is sweet, and light is the
burden that I shall place on your shoul
ders : Jugum enim incum suave est et onus
meum leve."
Experience teaches, and reason confirms
the truth that, though we may conquer by
violence, we can reign only by sweetness.
The human will is such that it may, in
deed, bend if we gain it and yield unre
servedly; but it becomes inflexible when
force is exerted against it. Violence
rouses resistance and revolt. The Wise
Man tells us this : f( Verbum dulce multipli-
cat amicos et lingua ciicharis in bono honi-
ine abundat — A sweet word multiplieth
friends . . . and a gracious tongue in
a good man aboundeth " (1).
Moses and David, the great leaders chosen
by God for His well-beloved people, were
men so gentle of character that they faith
fully practised sweetness in the government
of men, and made it the principal factor of
their own sanctification : " In fide et bonitate
ipsius (May sis), sanctum fecit ilium" (2).
It was under the character of sweetness
(1) Ecclus. vi, 5.
(2) Ibid, xlv, 4.
322 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
that Jesus presented Himself to the world
over which He sought to reign: " Ecce
Rex tuus venit tibi mansuetus " (1) . It
was under the charms of the sweetest In
fant that He appeared : " Benignitas et
humanitas apparuit Salvatoris nostri
Dei "(2). And the first time that He ad
dressed the multitude, He said to them:
11 The Spirit of sweetness has descended
upon Me, and hath anointed Me. It has sent
Me to announce glad tidings to the poor, to
heal the contrite of heart, to deliver the cap
tive, to give sight to the blind, and to restore
broken members. I come to preach the
great pardon of God, to promise the day
of compensation to the oppressed, to re
store the exile to his country, to console
all who weep, and to transform the whole
world into a just and victorious people,
from whom will rise to the Lord a concert
of praise and glorification "(3). And the
title which proclaims the sweetness, the
condescension, the solicitous and devoted
attention of His government, is a title of
supreme goodness : " I have pity on this
(1) Zach. ix, 9.
(2) Tit. iii, 4.
(3) Is. Ixi, 1.
Twenty-first Day, 323
multitude, which is like sheep without a
shepherd. I am the good Shepherd. I
know my sheep. I call each one by his
name, and I give My life for them ! "
The same sweetness inspires every action
of the Eucharist over the conduct of our
souls. This action consists in making them
live of the divine and supernatural life, in
making them advance in it unceasingly, un
til it leads them to the goal of eternal life,
to perfect resemblance with God. It meets
weakness, opposition, treason in our vi
cious nature instinctively borne to evil and
rebellious of sacrifice. This it is that ren
ders the action of grace difficult, laborious,
slow, and uncertain. Now, the Eucharistic
Christ exercises it with infinite sweetness,
with marvellous pliancy to the faculties, as
well as to the needs of all. He shows touch
ing condescension to our weakness, heroic
patience in supporting our hesitancy and
slowness, indefatigable longanimity in par
doning us, raising us up, incessantly recom
mencing the same old task, so obstinately
compromised by our frivolity and tepidity.
Nothing discourages Him, nothing exas
perates Him, nothing disturbs His equa-
324: The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
nimity or sweet benevolence. Still more
in order to encourage us while elevating us,
He transforms every obedience, every effort,
every act of virtue into acts of love, that
noble and sublime virtue, the queen of all
virtues. He traverses the ages, presenting
Himself to all men,, saying to them as He
reveals to them His Heart: " Come to
Me, all ye who labor, and I will refresh
you. Abide in Me, abide in My love, for
you are no longer strangers or servants, but
most dear friends : Manete in dilectione
meal"
O Christ, infinitely good at Heart, be
Thou blessed for treating my misery with
so much sweetness: " Parasti in dulcedine
tua paupcri, Deus !"(!).
REPARATION.
Sweetness in all its plenitude has been
stored up in the Heart of Jesus. The Man-
God is constantly producing most perfect
and meritorious acts of it, in order to offer
to God reparation for the dreadful sin of
wrath with its retinue of disputes, ven
geance, homicide, and bloody wars.
(i) Ps. Ixvii, 11.
Twenty-first Day. 325
Anger is one of the principal forms of
pride, which suffers no yoke, and of ego
tism, which will endure no opposition. The
Lord holds pride in horror. Anger is one
of the outward expressions of hatred, and
it kills in the soul charity for the neighbor.
He who is in hatred is in death. Anger, in
fine, inspires vengeance, which usurps the
rights of Him who has said: " Mihi vin-
dicta, ego r etribuam " ( 1 ) . It is the mother
of despair, whither it so quickly draws its
blind victims, and its outbursts never fail
to scandalize souls. By every title, there
fore, it is one of the seven capital sins, a
deadly sin by its very nature. The most
sweet Saviour condemns to eternal judg
ment " him who is angry against his broth
er and who injures him in his wrath: Ego
dico vobis quia omnis qui irascitur fratri
suo} reus erit gehenna ignis "(2). We un
derstand, in effect, that the most just anger
of God arms itself against the wrath of
man always unjust, since all men are equal
by origin, by sin, and by their destiny, in
spite of the accidental differences that dis
tinguish them during life.
(1) Rom. xii, 19.
(2) Matt, v, 22.
326 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
It was to expiate the crime of human
wrath and to appease the holy anger of God
by lovingly undergoing its vengeance, that
the Son of God became incarnate. This
double design condemned Him to appear
as a victim and to undergo its terrible des
tiny. For that purpose, it was absolutely
necessary that the Christ should be meek,
invincibly sweet. We cannot imagine an
expiatory victim, freely offered, anything
else. From the moment that He offered
Himself to satisfy outraged Majesty, de
spised Sovereignty, Justice aggrieved, Love
unknown, He had silently and intrepidly to
bear the burden even to the end with the
same generous love. It is this sweetness
in lovingly enduring that gives to the sac
rifice the savory odor which renders it so
agreeable to the Lord : " Odor suavissimus,
victims Domini "(I). The victim par ex
cellence of the sacrifices instituted by the
Lord was a lamb.
Jesus is the Lamb of God, who comes to
take away the sins of the world. Sheep
revolted against the Eternal Shepherd, we
were all wandering through the ways of
(1) Exod. xxii, 18.
Twenty-first Day. 327
evil and misfortune when it pleased God to
charge His Son with our iniquities. He
consented to be offered for us without open
ing His mouth to ask an explanation, plead
His justification, or utter a cry of sorrow.
He was led to death as a lamb to the
slaughter, and He was silent as a lamb in
the hands of him who shears it for the
sacrifice (1). How gentle He was under
the inexorable severity of His Father dur
ing His Passion! How sweet to those
that made Him suffer! — to Judas who be
trayed Him, to Peter who denied Him, to
the Apostles who abandoned Him, to the
judges who condemned Him, to the exe
cutioners who tortured Him! When, at
last, He broke silence, it was because His
Heart could no longer contain the excess of
Its sweetness. His pity for all who caused
His death forced Him to plead their pardon
with His Father: "Pater, dimitte illis, non
enim sciunt quid facmnt! — Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do ! "
This sweetness in enduring everything,
so necessary for a victim, follows the Eu-
charistic Lamb into the Sacrament in which
(1) Ts. liii, 19.
328 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
He incessantly renews the sacrifice of His
Passion and death. It is manifested in the
invincible patience with which He there sup
ports the injuries which from all sides at
tack Him in the weakness, inert and incapa
ble of resistance, of His sacramental state.
What does He endure? Irreverence,
frivolity, culpable negligence in the manner
of treating with Him, — irreverence in the
choice and use of things improper for His
worship, manifesting rather the little esteem
they have of Him than the respect and
gratitude they owe Him. And the secret
treason of sacrilegious Consecration and
Communions (of which He alone knows all
the outrage and bitterness) are joined to
public profanation, to blasphemies and
mockeries, to the violence of persecution
which chases Him from His abodes as a
malefactor who has no rights, and against
whom every form of outrage is permitted!
Jesus sees these injuries. He experiences
all their horror, and He feels against their
authors the most just wrath and the most
legitimate vengeance. But His incredible
sweetness restrains Him, leads Him to ac
cept all in order to perpetuate before His
Father His sacrifice of expiation, and to
Twenty -first Day. 329
gain our hearts by showing us what He is
capable of enduring for our sake. He is
always the " Lamb " of whom St. Peter
says, " Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in His mouth. Who, when He was
reviled, did not revile; when He suffered,
He threatened not; but delivered Himself
to him that judged Him unjustly. Who
His own self bore our sins in His body upon
the tree : that we being dead to sins, should
live to justice by whose stripes you were
healed. For you were as sheep going
astray: but you are now converted to the
shepherd and bishop of your souls. For
Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an
example that you should follow His foot
steps " (1).
PETITION.
" Memento, Domine, David et omnis
mansuetudinis ejusl — O Lord, remember
David and all his meekness ! " (2) It is
through the meekness of Thy Christ so
perfect, so meritorious, and so agreeable in
Thy eyes, that I supplicate Thee, O God,
Thou who dost " receive only the prayer of
(1) I Peter ii, 20-24.
(2) Ps. cxxxi, 1.
330 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the meek," that is, of those that overcame
anger and suffer in patience: " Suscipiens
mansuetos D ominus " (\) . We know that
" Non enim superbit ab initio placuerunt
tibi, D omine, sed huniilium et mansuetorum
semper tibi placuit dcprecatio — Nor from
the beginning have the proud been accept
able to Thee ; but the prayer of the humble
and the meek hath always pleased
Thee "(2). It is an abundant communication
of the meekness of His Heart that I implore
of Thee, O Father, for I have so much need
of it in all my works and toward all with
whom I deal! St. Thomas, the great in
terpreter of Thy thoughts, says very justly:
" Mansuetudo est bonitas cujuslibet ad
quemlibet — Meekness obliges us to be all
to all "(3).
It is toward my neighbor, toward every
neighbor, in whatever relation I may stand
to him, whether as superior, inferior, or
equal, that meekness ought to dominate my
sentiments and their expression, above all,
if I feel a natural antipathy toward him, or
if he has offended me. Courtesy, affability,
(1) Ps. cxlvi, 6.
(2) Judith ix, 16.
(3) 2a 2cr, q. cxlvii, a. 1.
Twenty-first Day. 331
support, sincere pardon, forgetfulness of
injury, kindness testified, — these are the
duties of Thy exquisite and sanctifying
sweetness, O my God, and I should imitate
them perseveringly. " Sectare charitatem,
patientiam, mansuetudinem — In charity, in
long-suffering, in sweetness "(1). All who
are by nature or by grace my brethren in
the charity of Thy Heart have a right to
expect this from me : " Omnein ostendentes
mansuetudinem ad onines — Showing all
mildness toward all men "(2).
It is plain to me that my duty is to be
meek, not with a soft or effeminate sweet
ness, but with that which will lead me to act
wisely, to shun impatience, anger, exaspera
tion, which rouse in my soul agitation and
discouragement. "Fill, in mansuetudine
serva animam tuam — My son, keep thy soul
in meekness "(3). "Guard me, then, O
my God, by the penetrating power of Thy
infinite sweetness, against impatience which
obstacles so easily produce in me when my
mind is gloomy and my heart is dry, when
I am laboring under fatigue and sickness,
(1) I Tim. 11.
(2) Tit. iii, 2.
(3) Ecclus. x, 31.
332 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
disqualifications and ignorance, difficulties
in the prosecution of good and the overcom
ing of defects, and the importunity of temp
tation. Guard me, above all, when my ef
forts are useless, my hopes frustrated, when
failure attends all my undertakings, when
humiliation wears me out. Grant me g*ace
even then to persevere meekly in the labor
of my sanctification : ' In mansuetudine
opera tua perfice — Do thy work in meek
ness '(1), and to redouble supernatural
sweetness in the ministry confided to me:
'Deo niinistros in suavitate, in Spiritu
Sane to — In sweetness in the Holy
Ghost '"(2).
And toward Thyself, O my Sovereign
Lord, against Thy august rights and Thy
paternal conduct over me, my pride dares
impatiently rise up to question Thee, to
blame, and even to condemn, as if Thou
didst owe me anything else than the chas
tisements of Thy just anger — ah ! grant that
I may be meek, patient, silent, always grate
ful, always content and smiling! Yes, may
I so comport myself under the pressure of
(1) Ibid. Hi, 19.
(2) II Cor. vi, 6
Twenty-first Day. 333
Thy will and toward all the instruments
that manifest it to me, however much they
may contradict my own ideas, however
much they interfere with my own inde
pendence and pleasure. I know well, my
God, that Thou dost hear, help, and save
only those that are supple and docile under
Thy almighty hand, who bend to Thy good
pleasure, which is ever just, wise, and benefi
cent in whatever form it may appear : " Quid
beneplacitum est Domino in populo suo, et
exaltabit mansuetos in salutem — For the
Lord is well pleased with His people: and
He will exalt the meek unto salva
tion !"(!).
" If you wish to be a disciple of the Sa
cred Heart of Jesus, you must become meek
and humble like Him: — meek to support
the annoyances, humors, and chagrin of
your neighbor, without vexing yourself
over the little contradictions that they may
cause you ; but, on the contrary, performing
for him whatever services you can, for this
is the true means by which to gain the good
graces of the Sacred Heart. You must be
sweet in order not to be disquieted in events
(1) Ps. cxlix, 4.
23
334 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
opposed to your inclinations, but also even
in the faults you may commit. Still more,
you must not excuse yourself, since our
adorable Master did not do so in His Pas
sion. Rejoice when you are forgotten and
despised, for that is the true means of mak
ing the amiable Heart of Jesus reign in ours.
Let us humble ourselves and allow ourselves
to be humbled." ( Words of Blessed Mar
garet Mary.)
Beg Our Eucharistic Lord to fill your
heart with love for your neighbor.
Our Lady of the Cenacle, pray for us.
(50 days' Indulgence.)
Dap.
THE SACRED HEART AND THE ANGELS.
THE angels are the elite subjects of the
kingdom of the Sacred Heart. Created by
a love of preference, which made them pure
spirits after the image of God, who is a
spirit; prevented by love, which preserved
them from the fall into which Lucifer pre
cipitated the unfaithful legions; absorbed
in the love of the Beatific Vision, — by all
these titles they belong most intimately to the
Sacred Heart, the symbol of divine love.
To make some return to that Sacred Heart,
they love and adore It, they celebrate It,
and eagerly fulfil all Its desires in the gov
ernment of creation. Our duty, not less
than our privilege, is to unite with the an
gels in loving more ardently and serving
more perfectly the Sacred Heart according
to Its own demand of Blessed Margaret
Mary : " The Divine Heart desires that
we maintain special union with the angels,
who are particularly destined to love, honor,
and praise It in the divine Sacrament of
Love in order that, being associated with
335
336 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
them, they may in His Divine Presence
plead for us."
ADORATION.
Though never absent from the throne
of the Heavenly Lamb, the angels press
around the Eucharistic tabernacles, one of
their chief functions being to adore the
Heart of Jesus hidden under the sacramen
tal veils.
As soon as the Lord had resolved to
place His Heart prophetically on the Ark
of the Covenant: " Et erit Cor meum ibi
cunctis diebus — And my Heart will re
main there perpetually " (1), He ordered
Moses " to cast two cherubim of beaten gold,
which he set on the two sides of the pro
pitiatory, spreading their wings, and cover
ing the propitiatory, and looking one to
wards the other, and towards it." In our
day, He orders the innumerable choirs of
blessed spirits to adore Him really present
and living in the Holy of Holies, the Hu
manity of the Word, hidden under the form
of the Sacrament : Cum iterum introducit
Primogenitum in' orbem terrae dicit. Et
adorent eum omnes angeli del — And again,
(1) II. Par. vii, 16.
Twenty-second Day. 337
when he bringeth in the first-begotten into
the world, he saith : And let all the angels
of God adore him(l).
They adore Him in the morning of their
creation when, revealing to them the " Sac
rament of His will and of His love," the
Father showed them His only Son lying in
a crib, clothed with the flesh of sinful man.
Stupefied with wonder, they contemplate
Him abased below themselves by the infe
riority of His corporal nature : " Qui mo-
dico quam angeli minor atus est — Who was
made a little lower than the angels "(2).
But they recognize at the same time that the
human Heart of their Creator, deified by
His personal union with the Word, is as
much superior to them as God is to the crea
ture; therefore, they adore It humbly, for
It was the Heart of Him to whom the
Father said from all eternity : " Thou art
my Son ! Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever: a sceptre of justice is the sceptre
of Thy Kingdom "(3).
They discover Him now still more abased
in the annihilations of the sacramental state.
(1) Heb. i, 6.
(2) Heb. ii, 9.
(3) Heb. i, 8.
338 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
He has neither form nor movement nor
warmth to reveal His Presence. He is, as
it were, buried in the dust of the tomb. And
yet, It is the immortal Heart of God resus
citated, the furnace of life and love, the
ocean of all joy, the source of every good
for heaven and earth ! They adore It, and
unreservedly devote themselves to Its serv
ice. The cherubim extend their wings
over Its sacramental weakness to protect
It, while fixing their eyes upon It to con
template all the wonders that It contains.
Nothing can separate them from Its pres
ence, except Its own will and the execu
tion of Its orders.
The chief of these true adorers, inaccess
ible to sleep or distraction is, without
doubt, the Archangel St. Michael, who in
heaven secured to the Word the adoration
of the faithful angels. In contemplating
the splendor of the divine nature in the
Sacred Heart and the beauties of Its hu
man nature, Its sanctity, Its love, Its mag
nificent works concealed under humility
still more resplendent, he forever repeats to
It, and the surrounding angels take up the
refrain : " Quis ut Deus? — Who is like to
God ?" It is the homage of adoration, but
Twenty-second Day. 339
powerless to express all that it feels. What
pure spirit, however holy or mighty, is com
parable to the Heart of God made man?
Who deserves to be loved, served, and glori
fied as He?
How perfect is this adoration of the an
gelic spirits in whom is reflected the splen
dor of the Vision ! They overflow with be
atific love. Neither in the weight of the
senses, nor in the resistance of the least
egoism, nor in the illusion of the slightest
shade of pride, do they encounter an obsta
cle to their adoration in spirit and in truth.
Let us, then, unite with them to adore the
Sacred Heart. Let us offer the love, sub
mission, purity, and humility of their ado
ration. They invite us to adore with them,
and the Sacred Heart approves it, find
ing therein glory and satisfaction.
"The Adorable Heart of my Jesus was
shown to me," says Blessed Margaret
Mary, " more brilliant than the sun. It
was in the midst of the flames of His pure
love, and surrounded by seraphim, who
sang in ravishing harmony:
'Love triumphs, love enjoys;
The love of the Sacred Heart gladdens ! '
340 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
" The blessed spirits invited me to join
with them in praising the amiable Heart,
but I dared not do it. Then they told me
that they had come to unite with me in ren
dering It a continual homage of love, ado
ration, and praise, and at the same time
they wrote this association in the Sacred
Heart, in letters of gold and ineffaceable
characters of love."
THANKSGIVING.
Another function of the angels that
stand before the face of God is to chant
His praises, to bless Him and magnify
Him in the joy of a gratitude always new.
"All the angels," says St. John, "stand
around the throne, singing in a loud voice:
Amen ! benediction and thanksgiving to our
God forever and ever ! Amen ! " And to this
canticle to the Divinity, they added praise
to the Humanity of the Incarnate Word:
' The Lamb that was slain is worthy to re
ceive power and divinity and wisdom and
strength and honor and glory and benedic
tion ! "
They owe to love and, consequently, to
the Sacred Heart, the gift of their sublime
nature, the privilege of their magnificent
Twenty-second Day. 341
destiny, the grace of their perseverance in
good and their victory over Lucifer — in fine,
the glory and the beatitude of their recom
pense. All these benefits were granted them
through the merits of the Word Incarnate,
consequently, in view of the Adorable Heart
of their Chief, through the merits of the
love with which He deigned to love them,
and of the suffering which He embraced in
order to obtain for them eternal salvation.
They experienced ineffable delights on re
ceiving from the depths in which was hid
den the Heart of their God illuminations
unknown to them, and on feeling themselves
inundated with joys springing from its
love, for they clearly understood with what
love the Sacred Heart was animated for
them. They magnified It, also, for having
made Itself the Bread of the viator, and for
all the benefits which that good Heart never
ceases to scatter among men in order to
lead them to eat with themselves the Bread
of Heaven at the eternal table. Their grati
tude is pure, full, overflowing, disinterested.
It binds them by irrevocable bonds to the
liberal Heart from which they constantly
behold flowing to them the plenitude of
good.
24
342 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
The Archangel Gabriel leads the choir of
thanksgiving, because he was the messen
ger of substantial grace, when he an
nounced to Mary the inexpressible Gift of
the Incarnation. It was he who placed up
on her lips the canticle of gratitude par ex
cellence, the Magnificat.
Let us unite in the Alleluia, chanted night
and day by the angels around the Sacred
Heart, and thus offer to It our thanksgiv
ings, also. Let the first act of our gratitude
be for the supremely loving thought of the
Heart of the best of fathers in giving
each of us one of His angels to conduct us,
to guard us, to assist and console us. Ah!
He well knew that we are weak, lonely, ex
posed, and unhappy ! Let us, then, bless
It for all the benefits that come to us
through the devoted and vigilant protection
of our angel guardians. They are for
us one of the best gifts of the Sacred
Heart.
" Once when I was in great sorrow,"
says Blessed Margaret Mary, " Our Lord
came to console me, saying : ' My daughter,
be not sad, for I am going to give thee a
guardian who will accompany thee every
where and hinder thy enemy from prevail-
Twenty-second Day. 343
ing against thee. All the faults into which
the latter will, by his suggestions, try to
make thee fall, will turn to his own confu
sion.' This favor gave me such strength
that it seemed to me that I had nothing to
fear, for the faithful guardian of my soul
assisted me so lovingly that he freed me
from all my pains. Once he said to me : ' I
want to tell thee who I am that thou mayst
know the love thy Spouse has for thee. I
am one of those that are nearest the throne
of the Divine Majesty and participate most
fully in the ardors of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus Christ. My intention is to communi
cate them to thee in as great abundance as
thou wilt be capable of receiving them.' "
REPARATION.
The angels, pure spirits, established in
beatitude, can not suffer. If Holy Scrip
ture represents them uttering cries and
weeping bitterly at sight of the multiplied
disasters caused by the King of Assyria,
" Ecce vivendes clamabunt foris, angeli pa
ds amare flebunt — Behold they that see
shall cry without, the angels of peace shall
weep bitterly" (1), it is to express the ar-
(O Is. xxxiii, 7.
344 The Eucharist ic Heart of Jesus.
dor of their love and the tenderness of their
compassion. They feel for us in the same
way that God Himself pities us, namely,
by a keen sense of our miseries, by assist
ing us powerfully, their own happiness in
the meantime experiencing no diminution.
No suffering can attack their incorporeal
and glorified nature.
It is to their Adorable Chief, abased so
far below them by the sufferings which in
this life made up the condition of His exist
ence, that their pity is first extended. They
follow Him from the Crib to Calvary to
strengthen Him, to sustain and console His
Heart, into whch flow torrents of afflic
tions. They warmed Him with their breath
on that cold December night of His birth.
They extended over His Mother and Him
self the shelter of their wings during their
journey into exile through the sands of
Egypt, and under the scorching sun. For
forty days they were with Him in the des
ert ready to serve Him and to give Him
the bread for which He hungered when Sa
tan dared to insult Him by temptation.
They strengthened Him in the terrors and
the sweat of the bloody Agony when, falling
prostrate on the ground, He implored His
Twenty-second Day. 345
Father to remove from Him the chalice of
His wrath. They rushed in impatient le
gions to exterminate His enemies when the
hideous troops went out to seize Him. But
being restrained by His own mighty will,
they followed the sacred Victim, unjustly
condemned and ignominiously treated, from
the prsetorium to Golgotha, weeping over
Him tears hot as their love. To drown
the cries of blasphemy, they loudly pro
claimed His praise. They encouraged Him
to continue His heroic sacrifice, helping Him
to walk, and supporting Him on the cross in
His last agony. It was by such means that
they eagerly lightened the supreme sorrow
which the public abandonment of His
Father inflicted on the faithful Heart of
Jesus. It was to show their indignation
that the angels who govern the world
veiled the sun, shook the earth, and rent the
rocks : " Videntes clamabunt et angeli pads
amare flebunt! "
Can it be supposed that the cherubim and
seraphim, intrusted with the guardianship
of the tabernacles and consecrated to the
service of the Eucharistic Christ, would not
weep over the neglected solitude in which
He is left by those for whose salvation
346 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
He remains there? Will not their tears
flow over the lack of zeal and fidelity, over
the coldness and irreverence of even His
friends? Will they not mourn over the
outrages and profanation of which He is
the victim, since He has embraced that state
of feebleness and silence in order more sure
ly to attach hearts to Him by the bonds of
pity? — " Ecce videntes angeli pads amare
ftebunt!"
The holy angels call us to make repara
tion in union with them. It is from this
union of reparation that the Divine Heart,
oppressed by man's deception, weighed
down by bitterness and humiliations, looks
for satisfaction and consolation. " The Di
vine Heart," says Blessed Margaret Mary,
" seems to desire that we should have special
union with the devotion of the holy angels,
who are particularly destined to love, hon
or, and praise It in the divine Sacrament of
Love. The reason of this is that, being
united and associated with tjiem, they may
supply for us before His Divine Presence,
as well to render Him our homage as to
love Him for us and for all those who love
Him not, and to repair the irreverences that
we commit.
Twenty-second Day.
347
While compassionating the Heart satu
rated with opprobrium and broken by our
crimes, the holy angels earnestly endeavor
to cure us of the evils with which sin weighs
down its miserable victims. The most effi
cacious remedy that they employ is to in
spire a great devotion to the Sacred Heart,
received and eaten under the veil of the
Sacrament. As the Archangel Raphael, the
admirable physician sent from heaven, or
dered the young Tobias to take the heart
of the fish that he had caught, promising
him that it would be for him a necessary
and very opportune remedy : " Cor ejus re-
pone tibi: sunt enim haec necessaria ad medi
cament a utiliter — Lay up his heart . . . for
these are necessary for useful medi
cines "(1). When, in effect, Tobias had
burned a part of the fish's liver in the house
of his fiancee, he put to flight the demon that
had infested it and, by anointing the eyes of
his aged father, restored to him his sight.
And thus the Heart of the Divine Fish, the
Sacred Ichthus, brought by Communion in
contact with our heart, chases from it the de
mon, and dissipates the blindness of pride
(1) Tob. vi, 5.
348 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
and the illusions of the passions which drag
down to sin. It is the remedy of immortali
ty, absolutely necessary to preserve from
death. It is the leaven of resurrection which
raises from every fall. It is the antidote
of sin, possessed of all virtues, whether to
preserve or to deliver. Raphael and the
holy angels that have charge of our souls
urge us to use it assiduously : " Cor ejus re-
pone tibi!"
PETITION.
By nature and by vocation, the holy an
gels are the ministers of prayer, the Chris
tian's powerful intercessors before God.
Holy Scripture shows them to us stand
ing or prostrate, golden censer in hand,
sending up to Him the sweet-scented fumes
of their uninterrupted prayer. Jacob saw
them untiringly ascending and descending
the mysterious ladder which rested on the
earth and reached to heaven, carrying up
to God the prayers of men and bringing
back to them His gifts. And the Divine
Master, specifying this ministry of the an
gelic spirits, said: "Amen, amen, I say
to you, you shall see the heavens opened,
and the angels of God ascending and de-
Twenty-second Day. 349
scending upon the Son of Man" (1). They
are indefatigable messengers between His
Heart and those that He has resolved to
save.
Lastly, the Church in the liturgy of the
Holy Mass, speaks of an angel who assists
the priest and, after the Consecration of the
Sacred Mysteries, she says : " We most
humbly beseech Thee, Almighty God, com
mand these things to be carried by the hands
of Thy angel to Thy altar on high in the
sight of Thy Divine Majesty — Jube haec
perferri per manus sancti angeli tui in sub
lime altare tuum in conspectu divinae Ma-
jestatis tuae" Is it the angel guardian of
the officiating priest that is named here?
Is it the angelic custodian of the temple
and the altar? Is it an angel specially de
puted by God for the service of the Holy
Sacrifices? Or perhaps it is St. Michael,
whom the Church invokes by name in the
offertory of the Mass for the dead. The
angels constantly exercise their mediation
between the Eucharistic Christ and those
whom He nourishes with His Flesh after
having sanctified them with the oblation
(1) John i, 51.
350 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
of His Blood. "Since the day that this
altar was consecrated, I have obeyed the
order to remain always near it," said an
angel to a holy priest who saw him standing
near the altar during the celebration of the
Holy Mysteries: " Ex quo sanctificatum
est altare istud, ego jugiter illi adstare jus-
sus sum."
Who can express the perfection and ef
ficacy of angelic prayer? The inebriating
perfume that it exhales before God is com
posed of the odors of stainless purity, ar
dent love, most profound devotion, unwav
ering fidelity, and unbounded loyalty to the
divine will. The angels are the friends of
God and, after Mary and Joseph, the beings
most dear to the Heart of Jesus. What can
It refuse them? They love us. They are
entirely devoted to us. Having the care
of our interests and responsible for our sal
vation, they know our real needs, they are
aware of the designs of God over us. They
are powerful, they are prudent, they are
faithful. Their prayer is ardent and con
tinuous. Nothing distracts it, nothing dis
courages it, not even our obstinacy in not
profiting by it. What may we not expect
from their intercession?
Twenty-second Day. 351
It is our duty to secure their concur
rence when we pray, uniting our prayer to
theirs, offering its perfection and merits to
supply for the defects of our own. Like
the Psalmist, let us say : " In conspectu an-
gelorum psallam tibi — I will sing praise
to thee in the sight of the angels "(I)- St.
Ephrem says : " Be like an angel during the
time of prayer. Try to make it so pure, so
holy, so faultless that, when the angels and
the archangels see it coming from your
heart, they may joyfully hasten to receive it
and present it to God, embellished with their
own immaculate purity. During your hour
of prayer remain united to God like the
cherubim and seraphim."
Let us, then, constantly and confidently
make use of the ministry of the angels with
the Sacred Heart. They desire to promote
our joy, and they have no greater longing
themselves than that we should know and
love that blessed Heart. " One day," says
Blessed Margaret Mary, " I saw the amiable
Heart of Jesus on a throne of flames, Its
Wound shedding around rays so ardent and
so luminous that the whole vicinity was
(1) Ps. cxxxvii, 1.
352 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
heated and lighted up. The daughters of
the Visitation appeared in this place, each
holding a heart in her hand. They ap
proached to present to the Divine Heart
those that they held. Some, when they
touched the Sacred Wound, became beau
tiful, lovely, and shining like stars; others
turned black and horrible. There were sev
eral whose names remained inscribed in
golden characters in the Sacred Heart, into
which they glided and abyssed themselves
on all sides with avidity and pleasure, ex
claiming : ' It is in this abyss of love that
we find our dwelling and our rest forever ! '
They were the hearts of those that have
labored most to make that of our Divine
Master known and loved."
Beg the angels of the tabernacle to in
crease your love for the Eucharist.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved
everywhere !
(100 days' indulgence.)
THE SACRED HEART AND PURGATORY.
SUBJECT.— Central star of the super
natural world, the Sacred Heart is the light
and life of all devotions. If we wish more
clearly to comprehend the doctrinal truth of
each one of them and cause their sanctify
ing virtues to gush forth more abundantly,
we must expose them to the radiance of the
Sacred Heart, namely, to the love of Our
Lord. This is what we shall now proceed
to do with regard to devotion to the souls
in purgatory.
In revealing His Heart, the adorable
Head of the Church Suffering desired to re
new the devotion of the Faithful to the dear
captives of fire and ardent longing. He con
secrated to their service the confidante (1) of
His most secret desires. He showed in His
Heart the inexhaustible treasure of help
necessary for their relief and deliverance. It
is remarkable that the first time the Sacred
(1) Blessed Margaret Mary.
353
354 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Heart was honored by the novices of Paray,
kneeling around their holy mistress before
a little pen-and-ink picture of the Adorable
Heart, after " an act of reparation and of
consecration, canticles, and prayers, fol
lowed by a prolonged adoration in silence to
render homage to the Sacred Heart, Blessed
Margaret Mary animated those first dis
ciples of hers to devote the rest of the day
to prayer for the souls in purgatory." In
spired by this example, let us reanimate our
charity toward the souls suffering in the
flame of the Sacred Heart.
ADORATION.
While professing the doctrine of purga
tory with the Catholic Church, let us adore
under the feeble covering of the Sacrament
the Creator of purgatory and the Head of
the Church Suffering. It is from the meet
ing in the Sacred Heart " of mercy and
truth," and from the kiss there exchanged
between " justice and peace " that this in
stitution, terrible yet full of condescending
love, was born. Purgatory punishes by tor
tures unknown to earth the slightest re
mains of stains or debts of sin, and while
punishing, purifies and delivers the soul
Twenty-third Day. 355
from those stains. By a merciful reprieve,
it permits the soul to finish the preparation
required before taking its place in the eter
nal festival of the Lamb without stain.
Sanctity and Justice enkindle the fire that
sensibly devours and the desire that spiritu
ally consumes. The soul is plunged there
in as long as there remains a stain of sin to
efface, a farthing of debt to pay. Oh, how
terrible are the sanctity and justice of the
Sacred Heart, and what awful light the fire
of purgatory projects upon them! Per
haps, we limit our view of the Sacred Heart
to seeing in It only Its character of good
ness, the pity and tenderness of Its love,
because we have so much need of them.
But what would be that love if it were not
so holy as to be unable to unite itself to any
alloy, so just as not to seek at any cost to
satisfy the rights of God?
Purgatory makes these perfections of the
Sacred Heart shine forth in all their splen
dor. It shows It to us as holy, as just as
It is loving. But it is very true that there,
as everywhere else, love rules and that
" Its mercies are above all Its works."
The Sacred Heart constantly operates
therein the work of Redemption, effecting
356 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
by the merits of Its Passion and death, re
newed upon the Eucharistic altar, the puri
fication from their faults and the liberation
from their debts of the dear captives. The
sweet Shepherd of the Sacrament watches
over this low region of His empire. He
sheds light upon the darkness that envelops
it, He pours waves of refreshment upon the
fires that devour it, He penetrates it with an
atmosphere of peace and of silent resigna
tion. He keeps alive therein love and hope :
a love that no sin can kill, a hope assured
of its recompense. He lives there, and the
dear souls, tortured beyond all expression,
live there, notwithstanding, of His life and
for His glory. Let us adore Him with them :
" Re gem cui omnia vivunt, venite adoremus!
— Come, let us adore the King from whom
all things live!"(l)
The Divine Master revealed the ties that
bind purgatory to the Eucharist by permit
ting Blessed Margaret Mary, the confidante
of His Heart, to receive when in His Pres
ence, either on the night of Holy Thursday
or on the feast of Corpus Christi, a revela
tion concerning the sufferings of those
(1) Invit. Off. Defunctorum.
Twenty-third Day. 357
souls. " One Holy Thursday night, when
praying before the Blessed Sacrament for
a certain soul, Our Lord showed it to her
under the foot of the chalice in which He
reposed, and where this dear soul was
finishing its purgatory. It was then that
the Heart of all pity asked her to abandon
herself to It without reserve that It might
give her to those dear suffering souls to do
for them all the good that she could."
THANKSGIVING.
However terrifying the sight of the
exactions of that Sanctity which purifies
souls in material fire and in the fire of un
quenchable desires, it is not less true that
the thought which presided over the crea
tion of purgatory is one of supreme mercy.
Our thanksgiving in time and in eternity
will not suffice to praise it as it merits.
The normal time of trial is the measure
of life granted to each one on this earth.
The divine munificence has filled it with
precious gifts, the providence of the Re
deemer has supplied it with powerful in
stitutions, and He shares it in person with
us, leading us, feeding us, and raising us
constantly from our faults. It seems, in-
358 The Eucharistlc Heart of Jesus.
deed, however little our fidelity, that eternal
recompense awaits us. In every case Jus
tice and Mercy would appear well justified
to judge definitely on that last evening of
life, " on which ends the day, after which
we can no longer labor." And this judg
ment would be heaven for those that
have here below washed their robe
from every stain in the Blood of the
Lamb, and hell for those others whom a
stain, however slight, renders unworthy.
If it had pleased the Lord, the Sovereign
Master of His gifts, that it should be so, it
would have been well done, and no one
would have a right to demand of Him a
reason.
But His mercy, which has guarded every
moment of our life, wishes to survive that
life and make itself felt even in the tomb,
vivifying the dead, and making the dust
germinate. So, it gives to all souls who do
not die radically separated from Jesus Christ
by mortal sin, a place to rest the foot in
order not to fall into the abyss at the in
stant of perilous passage, an assured means
of washing away the last remains of im
perfection, a legal sum to discharge the
whole temporal debt of their sins, a re-
Twenty-third Day. 359
prieve in which to finish their preparation
for heaven. And this is purgatory! Who
ever falls into it is sure of going to heaven.
And truly, were the fire still more fierce
and the privation of the sight of God still
more painful; were the period of this
double punishment to last for ages, is it
not clear that such a reprieve, to which we
have no right, and a resumption of life so
unheard-of, are an admirable and miraculous
superaddition of God's mercy, the master
piece of pity devised by the Heart of Our
Saviour? For if every soul receives all and
even more than is necessary to merit im
mediate entrance into heaven ; if that is the
only end at which the Saviour is aiming by
His gifts and assistance, how many, in
reality, render themselves worthy of it?
One chosen one, alas ! only one chosen one !
" Multi vocati pauci vero electi — Many are
called, but few chosen." The mass of
Christians are saved, thanks only to the
merciful reprieve of purgatory : " Ipse
salmis erit, sic to/men quasi per ignen — He
shall be saved, yet so as by fire "(1).
Those flames from which we cannot es-
(1) I Cor. iii, 15.
360 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
cape are absolutely necessary to produce
the worthy fruits of penance demanded by
our sins. This cruel privation of the pos
session of the Infinite Beauty, whom we
have met and whom we should possess as
soon as we quit this earth, makes us long
for God, thus giving to love the satisfaction
which we refused during life, and which
alone merits the possession of God in
heaven. Now, nothing appears too much
to those dear souls. They see clearly now,
and not content with accepting their pains,
they bless them as the precious instruments
of the least deserved and the most effica
cious of mercies.
With them let us bless the Sacred Heart.
Not satisfied with having gratuitously ac
corded them the grace of dying in Its love,
which grace, in a certain way, no one can
merit, It received them after their death that
they might not fall into the eternal abyss:
" In Christo quiescentibus"
Jesus shelters them in the asylum of His
Heart, living and full of hope, although
hiding from them His glorious countenance
and allowing them to be overwhelmned by
incomprehensible sufferings. But He helps
them by so many graces, by pure and gener-
Twenty-third Day. 361
ous love, by such strength, humility, and
resignation, that they taste the certainty of
reposing in His Heart.
Jesus loves them as the members of His
Body, as flesh of His Flesh. He loves them
as His children by whom He is loved in re
turn with sovereign love indissolubly fixed
on Himself. For although their love for
Him is not without imperfection and
deficiency, it is substantially the living and
immortal love which unites them to Jesus
and permits Him to live and abide in them.
And these dear souls see the love of Jesus
for them. They are certain of it. They
understand that new hope sprang up in
their breast when the Sacred Heart, in
manifesting Itself on earth, revealed to
them, also, the treasures of love hidden up
to that time, and with which It deigned to
fill the Church in these latter days. They
know that, if the tide overflows on earth,
its salutary inundation must extend to the
low regions in which they dwell. We read
in the writings of Blessed Margaret Mary:
"If you knew with what eagerness these
poor souls implore this new remedy, so ex
cellent for their sufferings! For it is thus
they call the devotion to the Divine Heart."
362 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
REPARATION.
Few considerations are so efficacious as
that of purgatory for giving a clear under
standing of the malice of sin, the injury it
does to God, the wound that it inflicts on
the Heart of Jesus, the prejudice that it
brings to the soul. It arouses, in conse
quence, hatred for that sovereign evil, and
impels to works of penance. Considering
the Saviour's love for the souls in purga
tory and their love for Him, how compre
hend the horror, the depth, the duration of
their torments simply to expiate small stains,
the remains of sin, the temporal debts due
to sin, except by admitting that the least
fault is the greatest of evils, and that to
preserve its stain is the greatest of mis
fortunes? We have only to open the book
of the Revelations of the Sacred Heart to
see with what severity that Heart of good
ness and pity punishes after this life the
voluntary faults of Its friends, and their neg
lect to purify themselves from them when
on this earth, where It was holding open
to them the sources of salutary expiation:
" In die erit fons patens habitantibus Jerusa
lem in ablutionem peccatoris — In that day
Twenty-third Day. 363
there shall be a fountain open to the in
habitants of Jerusalem for the washing of
the sinner "(1).
The following revelation, touching their
physical pains, shows that they differ little
from those of hell itself:
" Once," says Blessed Margaret Mary,
" I saw in a dream one of our Sisters who
had been dead for some time. She told me
that she was suffering much in purgatory.
I awoke at these words, and so full of pain
that it seemed to me that she had impressed
her own upon me. My whole body was so
bruised that it was painful to me to move.
She gave me no peace, but constantly re
peated to me : ' Pray to God for me. Offer
Him your sufferings in union with those of
Jesus Christ to relieve mine ! '
" Approaching my bed, she said to me :
' You are taking your ease in bed. Look
where I am lying on a bed of flames, on
which I am suffering intolerable evils.' —
And showing me that horrible bed, which
makes me tremble whenever I think of it,
with its sharp fiery spikes which pierced the
flesh, she told me that it was for her in-
(1) Zach. xiii, 1.
364 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
fidelities to God and her negligence in the
observance of her Rules.
' They tear my heart with red-hot iron
combs, — and that is my most cruel suffer
ing, — for the thoughts of murmuring and
disapprobation that I entertained against
my superioress. My tongue is eaten by
vermin in punishment of my words against
charity, and my whole mouth is ulcerated
for my little attention to silence/
' ' Oh, that all souls consecrated to God
could see me in this torment! If I could
make them feel the greatness of my pains
and those that are prepared for religious
who live carelessly in their vocation, doubt
less, they would walk with renewed ardor
in the way of exact observance. They
would take good care not to fall into the
defects that make me suffer so much ! ' —
On another occasion, when they wanted to
give me some remedies, that soul said to
me : ' They are thoughtful to relieve you
in your misery, but no one thinks of allevi
ating mine ! '
"Another time, as I was before the
Blessed Sacrament on the days of Its feast,
a soul all on fire suddenly presented itself
before me. The heat that came from it so
Twenty-third Day. 365
penetrated me that I, too, seemed to be
burning. The pitiable state of the soul gave
me to understand that it was in purgatory,
and forced from me an abundance of tears.
It told me that it was the soul of a Benedic
tine monk, who had once heard my con
fession and ordered me to receive Holy
Communion. In consideration of this, God
had permitted him to address himself to
me to obtain relief in his suffering. He
asked me for all that I could do and suffer
during three months, and he gave me three
reasons for his great sufferings. The first
was, because he had preferred his own in
terest to the glory of God, by too great at
tachment to his reputation; the second was
his want of charity toward his brethren;
and the third, the too natural affection he
had had for creatures, and the too great
testimony he had given of it in his spiritual
conversations with them, which displeased
God much. It would be difficult to express
what I had to suffer during those three
months. That soul never quitted me and,
on the side where he was, it seemed to me
to see him all on fire, and with pains so
acute that I was forced to groan and weep
almost continually."
25 •
366 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
The Blessed Sister again wrote : " I
beg some special help for our poor Sister
N , for whom I have been offering
since the new year all that I could do and
suffer. She gave me no repose until I had
made her the promise to do penance for
her. She told me that she was suffering
much, especially for three things : the first
was for her too great delicacy and bodily in
dulgence ; the second was for tale-bearing
and failures in charity; and the third for.
certain petty points of ambition."
Blessed Margaret Mary, the dear con
fidante, entering into the desires of the
Sacred Heart, offered herself as a victim to
Divine Justice in behalf of the poor souls,
and the Sacred Heart immolated her without
pity to Its requirements. She said of this :
" It seems to me that everything serves
as an instrument for Divine Justice to tor
ment me. Nothing makes me suffer more
than this sanctity of justice. It is a tor
ment which seeks as a remedy only crosses,
humiliations, sorrows, pains of all kinds,
under which I would succumb a thousand
times, if His goodness did not sustain me
in an extraordinary manner."'
Twenty-third Day. 367
PETITION.
The solicitous love which fills the Heart
of the Divine Shepherd for the suffering
portion of His flock, and the eminent dig
nity to which He raises the least of the chil
dren of men by calling them to co-operate
by an active ministry in the work of Re
demption, give us to understand that noth
ing enters more fully into His desires than
to offer one's self to plead for and to satisfy
for the souls in purgatory. The increase of
love for God, which is the necessary fruit
of devotion to the Sacred Heart well under
stood, ought to be accompanied by an in
crease of charity for the dear neighbor so
needy and so deserving of pity. Blessed
Margaret Mary says : " I abandoned my
self to the direction and the conduct of the
Sacred Heart, which has deigned to do me
this charity. And It often gives Its poor
victim to the souls in purgatory to help
them and to satisfy Divine Justice. At
such times I endure a pain almost like their
own, finding rest neither day nor night."
The Sacred Heart made known to her
two efficacious means for the relief of the
dear souls: prayer, and acts done in union
with Its own.
368 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
First, prayer of every form, but above all
sacramental prayer, namely, the Holy Mass,
the full application of the death and merits
of Jesus. The Saviour said : " These poor
souls especially implore Masses in honor of
the Sacred Heart." Secondly, Holy Com
munion, which renders the soul so pleasing
to Jesus and so powerful over His Heart.
" A deceased religious bids me apply to
you, my dear Mother, for a general Com
munion," wrote Blessed Margaret Mary to
a certain superioress. Thirdly, adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament, for it was when
the Blessed Sister prolonged her prayer at
the foot of the tabernacle that the suffering
souls surrounded her, imploring her in
tercession.
The virtues indicated by the Sacred
Heart or by the souls in purgatory them
selves as the most efficacious are purity,
charity, mortification, and humility. These
virtues Blessed Margaret Mary begged her
Sisters to practise in union with the Sacred
Heart, and in the Sacred Heart Itself with
the soul turned toward the Blessed Sacra
ment. " The first thing in the morning,
place yourself in the Sacred Heart, conse
crating yourself entirely to It with all that
Twenty-third Day. 369
you shall think and say. Offer to Jesus in
the Blessed Sacrament all the Holy Masses
that shall be celebrated throughout the Holy
Church, which you will beg your good angel
to hear and offer to God to appease His
justice.
" In the evening, make a little turn
through purgatory in company with the
Sacred Heart, consecrating to It all that
you shall have done, begging It to apply its
merits to those holy suffering souls. At
the same time, implore them to make use of
their power to obtain for you the grace to
live and die in love and fidelity to the Sacred
Heart by unresistingly corresponding to Its
desires in your regard."
To encourage devoton and stimulate zeal,
she used to say, smilingly : " Let us think
of our good friends and ask Our Lord's
mercy for them. They will not forget us ! "
The following prayer to the Sacred
Heart, indulgenced by Leo XIII, of blessed
memory, proves how good it is to invoke
that dear Heart for the souls in purgatory :
" 0 dimnum Cor Jesu, praesta, quaeso,
animabus purgantibus requiem aeternam,
hodie morituris gratiam finalem, peccatori-
bus veram poenitentiam, paganis fidei lucem,
370 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
mihi meisque omnibus tuam benedictionem.
Tibi ergo, Cor Jesu piissimum, omnes has
animas commendo ct pro ipsis tibi offero
omnia tua merit a, una cum mentis Beatis-
simae Matris tuae, omniumque sanctorum
et angelorum; atque omnibus missarum
sacrinciis, sacris communionibus, orationi-
bu$ et bonis operibus, quae hodie in toto
chrstianorum orbe peraguntur. — O Divine
Heart of Jesus, grant, I conjure Thee, eter
nal rest to the souls in purgatory ! To those
that will die today, grant the final grace ; to
sinners, true contrition ; to pagans, the light
of faith ; to me and mine, Thy blessing ! To
Thee, O most merciful Heart of Jesus, I
commend all these souls, and for them I
offer to Thee Thy own sacred merits along
with those of Thy Blessed Mother, of all
the angels and saints, together with all the
Masses, Holy Communions, prayers, and
good works which shall be performed to
day throughout the whole Christian world ! "
By a Brief of March 13, 1901, Leo XIII
accorded to all who recite this prayer one
hundred days' Indulgence, once a day, ap
plicable to the souls in purgatory.
Twenty-third Day. 371
Beg Our Lord to increase your devotion
toward the Holy Souls in purgatory.
Let us adore, thank, supplicate, and con
sole with Mary Immaculate the most sacred
and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
(200 days' Indulgence.}
Cwent^tourtb
" BEHOLD THIS HEART/'
^ THE heart of Jesus is the origin of the
Eucharist, because His love alone, attain
ing supreme power, inspired the Saviour on
the last night of His earthly life to make to
His own, whom He could not resolve to
leave, this gift of Himself. For this reason,
the Sacred Heart may be called the Eucha-
ristic Heart, that is, the Heart which
gives us the Eucharist. But still more: if
we consider It as present, living and acting,
loving us, immolating Itself for us in
sacrifice, giving Itself to us in Communion,
in the Christ veiled by the sacramental
signs, it is, then, the Sacred Heart which
by incessantly renewing, perpetuates the
love and the gift of the Eucharist.
It is under this aspect that we shall ren
der to It our homage in the present adora
tion. The Heart of the Eucharistic Christ
in Its truth and Its life is the object of our
adoration. In Its love and Its benefits, It
is the object of our thanksgiving-. In the
372
Twenty-fourth Day. 373
offences inflicted upon It by the ingratitude
of men, It is the object of our reparation. In
the power of Its untiring intercession, It is
the object of our petitions.
We shall reflect on the grand revelation
of the Sacred Heart: " Behold this Heart
that has so loved men! — In return I re
ceive, for the most part, only ingratitude —
Do thou, at least, try to console Me by
making Me some return ! "
ADORATION.
" Behold this Heart that has so loved
men ! " said the Saviour, showing His Heart
to Blessed Margaret Mary. The Blessed
Sister tells us : " One day, the Blessed
Sacrament being exposed, Jesus Christ, my
sweet Saviour, appeared before me sparkling
with glory, His five wounds brilliant as five
suns. From His Sacred Humanity shot
forth flames on all sides, but more than all
from His adorable breast, which looked like
a furnace. Opening it, He disclosed to me
His loving and lovable Heart, the living
source of those flames."
In this way does the Sacred Heart pre
sent Itself to the adoration of His creatures :
in the breast of Christ really present under
26
374 The Eucharisiic Heart of Jesus.
the Sacramental veils. It is the furnace of
the glorified life lived by the Sacred Hu
manity in the Sacrament, and of the life of
grace that It pours into souls by the Eucha
rist. All this is clearly signified by the
flames issuing from the Sacred Heart, which
transform the breast of Christ into a glow
ing furnace, and which shine like suns in
the wounds of His hands and feet.
It is, indeed, true that, in virtue of the
sacramental state, to which It is reduced
by Consecration, the Sacred Heart, as is the
whole Body of Christ, is, as it were, anni
hilated, without extent, without form, with
out physical communication with the out
ward world. But, again, like the Eucha-
ristic Body, It retains the integrity of Its
substance and intrinsic life. And because in
man the heart is the symbol, as well as the
principal organ, of life, the Divine Master
by showing His Heart, proclaims that He
is living in the Eucharst; and that His
mode of material existence does not pre
vent His being a human composite, result
ing from a soul and a body personally
united to the Word, who deifies them, and
re-unites them by immortal resurrection
never again to be separated by death.
Twenty -fourth Day. 375
No manifestation could better reply to
Protestant heresy, which pretends that the
Eucharist is only the symbol of Christ's
Body, but not the Body itself. By showing
His Heart in His breast, by showing It
glowing like a brazier, Christ declares the
integral reality of His Body and the truth
of His corporal life, for a living heart
means a living body. He proclaims the
truth of His mortal life, for the human
heart can beat only under the impulse of a
human soul. He manifests the truth of His
divine life, for never would the Body and
Soul of Christ have existed if not borne by
the Word. Whoever sees the living Heart
of the Christ, sees the sanctuary in which re
sides the Word Incarnate, deifying the
Sacred Humanity of Jesus and causing It
to live personally of the life of God Himself.
But as life necessarily manifests itself by
action, the Heart of Christ revealed in the
Sacrament, reminds us that, under the ap
pearance of death, the Eucharistic Christ
operates, acts, spreads abroad the radiance
of life. His is the life of a creature the
most submissive to the Creator, the life of
a servant the most devoted to his master, the
life of a son the most loving toward his
376 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
father, the life of a priest the most faithful,
of a religious the most holy in view of the
majesty and sanctity of the Most High.
His is a life of all the virtues in their most
intense perfection. They arrest and fix
upon themselves the complacency of God,
they form the infinite delight of God.
The Sacred Heart is, at the same time,
the furnace whence spreads the life of grace
throughout the whole Church and in each
individual soul, for it is from the plenitude
of Jesus that we receive everything, and
grace for grace — DC plenitudine ejus omnes
accepimus, et gratiam pro gratia (I). For
the Church it means unity in hierarchy and
fraternity, universal expansion, uninter
rupted duration which no obstacle can
break, together with sanctity of doctrine,
Sacraments and morals. For souls, it
means all the grace of the most diverse
states, of all virtues, of all duties, all prog
ress in good, all the holy deaths that
open the way to the perfect life of God in
heaven. All these beautiful forms of grace,
these beams so luminous, these beneficent
and triumphant forces of life, flow forth
(1) John i, 16.
Twenty -fourth Day. 377
abundantly in copious, inexhaustible
streams from the Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus. They are all only manifestations of
the eternal life, of which the Eucharist is
the Bread.
"Behold this Heart!"
Behold the Heart par excellence, the
unique Heart, the Heart of Jesus and our
Heart, also, which the living Sacrament of
Jesus offers to us that we may acknowledge,
adore, and exalt It with piety, attention, and
fidelity : " Omni custodia serva Cor tuum;
quia ex ipso vita procedit — With all watch
fulness keep thy Heart, because life issueth
out from It"(l).
THANKSGIVING.
" Behold this Heart which has so loved
men that It has spared nothing, even to ex
hausting and consuming Itself, in order to
testify to them Its love ! "
The Heart of the Saviour in the Sacra
ment is the object of our thanksgiving as
well as of our adoration ; for if the heart is
the furnace of life, it is, also, the source of
love and of all the benefits that manifest it.
(1) Prov. iv, 23.
378 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
And as " from the heart of a good man
cometh forth good things, new and old:
Bonus homo de bono thesauro profert bona,
nova, et vetera"(l), so is the Heart of
Christ in the Sacrament the ever open
source whence flow forth the goods new and
old, brought to the world by the Redeemer.
The memorial of ancient benefits, His
Heart repeats to us that God so loved the
world as to give to it His only Son in the
Incarnation. It tells us that this Son, al
though we were His enemies, after having
lavished upon us all the treasures of His
prayers and virtues, His teaching and benef
icent power, His pity and mercy, loved
us so far as to deliver Himself to death. It
tells us, again, that having loved us to that
extreme, He willed to love us to the end,
by giving Himself to us in the Eucharist
before returning to His Father.
These ancient loves His Heart incessantly
renews for us in the Sacrament, since the
Sacrifice that Jesus daily offers, is the per
fect reproduction of His death as Re
deemer. Communion gives to every soul
the Flesh and Blood, the life, the strength,
(1) Matt, xii, 35.
Twenty-fourth Day. 379
and consolation that He imparted to His
Apostles at the Last Supper. The abiding
Presence in the tabernacle is the prolonga
tion of His beneficent and protecting Pres
ence among men when dwelling corporally
in their midst.
Lastly, His Heart in revealing itself sur
rounded by flames in the Sacrament, tells us
that He there loves us with an actual and
personal love, which no ingratitude can ex
tinguish. It declares that It longs to com
municate Itself, to give Itself to every soul.
Every Host is a burning brand meant to
enkindle a fire of gratitude, fidelity, and
generosity in the hearts of all men.
3 The Sacred Heart is the Eucharistic
Christ's reply to Jansenism, which aims at
restraining man by fear and crushing in him
every spark of love and confidence, by rep
resenting so exclusively the holiness and
majesty of the Saviour as to render Him
inaccessible to human weakness and misery.
" My Divine Heart is so passionately
enamored of men that, no longer able to
restrain the flame of Its burning charity, It
must needs allow them to spread abroad. It
must manifest them in order to enrich men
with these precious treasures." And the
380 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Son of God, who had need of nothing nor of
any one, deigned to utter this ineffable de
sire : " I ardently thirst to be loved by men
in the Sacrament of My love ! "
REPARATION.
" Behold this Heart that has so loved
men ! In return, I receive for the most
part only ingratitude and forgetfulness.
That grieves Me more than all I suffered in
My Passion. If they would make Me some
return of love, I should esteem as little all
I have done for them, and I should wish,
were it possible, to do more. But by cold
ness and rebuffs they meet My eagerness to
do them good! Do thou, at least, console
Me by supplying for their ingratitude as
much as thou canst."
The Divine Saviour proposes His Heart
in the Sacrament as the object of our
reparation, because, in reality, it is that
Heart that is struck by all the sins of man
kind. It is the direct object of all sins form
ally committed against the Eucha
rist, such as irreverence, sacrilegious
Masses and Communions, profanation, the
violation of the day consecrated to the
Eucharistic Sacrifice, and the contempt of
Twenty-fourth Day. 381
the Paschal precept. It is the object of the
ingratitude shown Its ardent and eager love
in the Eucharist by the tepidity, the cold
ness and indifference, the disrelish and
abandonment with which we too frequently
respond to Its advances.
But every mortal sin being a sin of in
gratitude toward God, which extinguishes
in the soul the love that the creature owes
his Creator, every mortal sin is a sin
against the Heart burning with love in the
Eucharist. Mortal sin is so much the more
dreadful as this Sacrament is the sign, the
memorial, the most eloquent proclamation of
all the love that Christ had and still has for
mankind. To repel Its love is, then, to
repel the Heart of the Eucharistic Christ.
To extinguish love in the soul of a Christian,
a member of Jesus, would be to crush life
out of the Heart of the Saviour Himself, if
such a thing could be done. But most cer
tainly, it was of those blows that He died
upon the Cross. Every sin attacks the life
of the Sacred Heart.
Again, all the less grave sins, venial sin,
the habit of venial sin, affection to venial
sin, and tepidity, which results from it with
out actually killing love, weaken its life.
382 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
They enfeeble its action, tarnish its bril
liancy, dull its sentiment, render it, in fine,
so heavy and languishing, so disagreeable
and repulsive, that the Sacred Heart cannot
support such a soul, but threatens to cast it
forth.
It is, indeed, to the Sacred Heart, the
Sacramental Victim of the sins of mankind,
that reparation ought to be directed as to its
first and immediate object. The Saviour
Himself calls for it in behalf of " sinners,
to obtain mercy for them ; and for tepid
souls who continue to inflict upon Him the
bitterness that He experienced from the
sleep of the Apostles during His agony.
The reparation of the devout can alleviate
that bitterness."
Which are the chief means of reparation ?
Holy Communion, most fervent and fre
quent; the Holy Hour, or that of adoration,
in which we keep Him company; the wor
ship of His Sacred Heart and the spread
of Its reign ; but, above all, love, love grate
ful for Its benefits, compassionate for Its
humiliations, penitent and filled with those
generous expiations that It sighs for : " Do
thou, at least, try to console Me by making
Me some return ! "
Twenty-fourth Day. 383
PETITION.
" My Heart shall remain there forever—
Et erit Cor mcum ibi cunclis diebus" said
the Lord when He accepted as a house of
prayer the Temple which Solomon had built
to Him (1). He gave this prophetic image
of His Heart to excite confidence in all who
would come to pray there. It was to be, in
advance, a pledge of His watchfulness over
their needs, and of His loving care in pro
viding for them. When revealing His
Heart truly living and always present in the
Sacrament, the Saviour said to Blessed Mar
garet Mary: ''Help shall fail thee only
when power shall fail My Heart." This
shows us how anxiously the Sacred Heart
awaits our prayers in order to answer them.
The Sacred Heart exists for our prayers.
It is the sanctuary in which they find God
personally present, in which they are offered
to Him and heard by Him. The Sacred
Heart is the adorable object which we ought
to invoke confidently, because It is love,
goodness, compassion, riches, providence,
and power.
The Sacred Heart is the assured means
(1) II Par. vii, 16.
384 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
of rendering our prayers efficacious, if we
offer them through It, for It is the Heart
of the Holy Priest, always heard by the
Father. That Heart perfects and sanctifies
our prayers. It is the Heart of the inno
cent Victim, who delivered Himself to pur
chase in advance all the favors that we beg
of God in His name.
We must, then, enter into the Sacred
Heart and remain there to pray to the
Father, to pray to Itself, and to pray
through It.
" I have found My Heart that I may
pray to my God," said the devout St.
Bernard: " Inveni Cor meum, ut orem
Deum meum, that is, the Heart of my King,
of my Father and my Friend Jesus ! I shall
enter into this Sanctuary, in which Thou
dost always answer prayer, O my God, and
I shall confidently pour forth my petitions."
Blessed Margaret Mary said : " When
you wish to pray, enter into this Sacred
Heart as into an oratory, in which you will
find wherewith to pay God what you owe
Him, by offering Our Lord's prayer to sup
ply for the defects of your own, by • lov
ing God with the love of His Divine Heart,
adoring with His adoration, praising with
His praise, working with His works, and
Twenty-fourth Day. 385
willing with His will." Behold the infalli
ble 'means of being favorably heard and of
always accomplishing the divine will.
After the Sacred Supper during which
He had forever enclosed His Heart in the
Eucharistic sanctuary, behind the sacred
veil of bread, Our Lord said : " Abide in
me. Abide in my love," which words mean :
" Abide in My Heart. If ye abide therein,
all that ye ask shall be given you. My
Father is glorified in granting you all that
ye ask in My name."
Let us, then, in all our needs, in every
affliction, however desperate, in every neces
sity of Church or State, let us go with con
fidence and perseverence to the Heart of
the Eucharistic Christ hidden in the depths
of the Sacrament. Almighty God will be
glorified by all the favors, all the pardon,
all the victories that He shall be pleased to
grant us : " Accedet homo ad Cor altwn, et
exaltabifur Deus! Man shall come to a
deep Heart, and God shall be exalted " (1).
Perform an act of charity in honor of the
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have pity on
us!
(300 days' Indulgence.)
(1) Ps. Ixiii, 7, 8.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST AND THE SACRED
HEART.
ADORATION.
OUR object in the following pages is, to
win for the Holy Eucharist greater love,
by showing the adorable Heart of Jesus
present in It, living in It, rendering It so
loving and so lovable, so powerful and so
patient, so worthy of the complacency of
Heaven and the desires of earth.
The Holy Eucharist and the Sacred Heart
are not, indeed, one and the same, as is
sometimes said, and the devotion to the Sa
cred Heart, closely considered, is found to
be distinct from the devotion to the Blessed
Sacrament.
The material object of the former is the
Heart of Jesus, His Heart of flesh, con
sidered in the triple phase of Its living ex
istence, namely, in Its mortal life, in Its
Eucharistic life, in Its glorious life in
heaven. Its formal, or moral, object is all
the love for us that Jesus has drawn from
386
Twenty-fifth Day.
His Heart in being born, in living, in in
stituting the Eucharist, in dying on the
Cross, and in ascending to heaven to prepare
for us our everlasting abode. The material
object of the devotion to the Blessed Sac
rament is the Sacred Humanity and, con
sequently, the whole Adorable Person of
Jesus residing in the Eucharist; and its
motive is the love that He therein testifies
to us, and the remembrance of His Passion,
which He recalls to us incessantly by its
daily renewal therein.
These two devotions are, consequently,
distinct in their object. But they have,
nevertheless, points of resemblance so mir
merous, they so closely support and embrace
each other that, in practice, if we desire to
attain the perfection of each, we must unite
them into a single one.
Souls devout to the Sacred Heart will
gain much by always seeking the divine ob
ject of their love in the Sacrament which
presents It to them present and living, which
places It under their eyes, in their hands,
and in their breasts. Souls devout to the
Holy Eucharist will find immense profit in
penetrating beyond the outward appearance
of the Sacred Species, in plunging into the
388 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
profound secrets of the Sacrament, into the
Adorable Body Itself, in order to discover
therein the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which
makes the Eucharist a living Being, loved
and loving, and leading for God and for us
a life full to overflowing.
To be satisfied with honoring the Sacred
Heart in Its pictures, and not to know how
to find It in Its Eucharistic reality, is to
understand It but little, to neglect the prin
cipal objects of the devotion to the Sacred
Heart, namely, Jesus' Heart of flesh ac
tually present among us, and the greatest
proof of His love, the Holy Eucharist. And
not to know how to discover the Heart of
Jesus under the lifeless Species of the Sac
rament, is not to comprehend the Eucharist
as It should be comprehended. If It has
no Heart, if we do not find in It the Heart
of Our Saviour, what can this Sacrament
be for us? And if we do not habitually
meet there that Heart, how shall we love
It sufficiently to honor and serve It as It
deserves? Where would be our confidence
to tell It of our needs, our desires, our
troubles?
Whether we have an attraction to the Sa
cred Heart or to the Holy Eucharist, in
Twenty-fifth Day. 389
order to receive all the graces that these
two devotions offer us, we must reach the
Heart of Jesus living in the Blessed Sacra
ment, we must know and adore It therein,
honor It, and unite ourselves to It in Holy
Communion.
May the points of doctrine upon which
we are going to touch relative to the pres
ence, the action, and effects of the Heart
of Jesus in the Eucharist, lead our read
ers more easily, and with greater fruit
to themselves, to that Heart of our God
and Saviour become so really ours by His
Presence in the Sacrament of the Altar!
It is a dogma of faith that Jesus is liv
ing in the Blessed Sacrament in all the
integrity of His Sacred Humanity. He
is there with His Body, His Blood, His
Soul, and His Divinity — Christus totus!
And He is living, for St. Paul says :
" Christ since the day of His resurrection
is living, and He shall die no more." — On
Easter morn, all the Blood that Jesus had
shed during His Passion in Gethsemani,
in the praetorium, on the road to Calvary,
on the Cross, was gathered into golden
vases by the angels eager for that minis
try of life.
390 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Thence it was poured into the Heart of
Jesus, and when the holy Soul entered into
Its august sanctuary, the reanimated Heart
of Jesus beat with joy. It sent Its vermil
ion waves into the arteries, It tinged the
Saviour's cheeks discolored by death. It
recommenced to pulsate in Jesus' breast
with a pulsation that was never more to
cease. It animates His glorified Body in
the celestial Jerusalem. And when the
priest consecrates the Sacred Host, it is
Jesus Christ entire, His whole Humanity
that the almighty words enclose under the
veil of the Sacramental Species. The Sav
iour's Body possesses therein all its or
gans, all its members. They are all ani
mated by the Blood which flows from the
Heart, and which laves them with its vivi
fying currents. It is true that Jesus re
duces that corporal life to a point, that He
withdraws it from our gaze, that it escapes
our most earnest researches. It is true that
that life is not in communication with any
exterior agents, and that for its existence it
has need neither of air to breathe, nor
space, nor nourishment. This is the pro
found mystery of the Eucharist, that Christ
should be therein entire, but in the manner
Twenty-fifth Day. 391
of substances altogether like unto that of
pure spirits. We ought to adore Him
in humble and submissive faith. But the
darkness in which Jesus shrouds His Hu
manity in the Blessed Sacrament ought not
to make us forget that He is really there
in all His truth, in all His integrity, with
all His members, all His organs, all the
fulness of His life, glorified and immutable.
The seat of that life, the source of the
Blood that feeds it, the bond of the Saviour's
members, in which shine the marks of the
Five Wounds, the centre of that Eucharis-
tic Humanity, is the Heart of Jesus, His
Heart of flesh, formed of the most pure
blood of Mary. Living, beating, that Heart
is in each of the consecrated Hosts on our
altars, and in every particle that may be
detached from them. The Host is not the
Heart alone of Jesus, but without that
Heart there would be no Host.
THANKSGIVING.
The Host is Jesus in the integrity of
His Humanity. This Humanity rests upon
His Heart from which flows all life, says
Holy Scripture, and which is the first or
gan to live in us and the last to die, accord-
392 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
ing to the dictum of scientists. Let us then
study It, study It well. The Sacred Host
is the Adorable Person of Jesus. It is
His Divinity, His Soul, His Body, His
true Body, perfect and entire. Prostrate
before the Host, we may in spirit kiss the
adorable hands and feet of Jesus. We have
a right to aspire even to the " kiss of His
mouth." We may gaze in spirit upon His
divine countenance. His eyes are fixed
upon us, His ears are attentive to our sup
plications. How, then, could we neglect
His Heart, His sweet Heart, in which took
birth the divine plan of the Eucharist,
which led the Saviour to institute It, to per
petuate for us the Real Presence, which
daily offers us the Bread of our Commun
ion, and which, up to this moment, is in
flamed for us with a love infinite, tender,
patient, though, perhaps, saddened and af
flicted because of our failure to compre
hend His love, His Presence, His truth?
The Heart of Jesus in the Host is both
human and divine, finite and infinite, created
and uncreated; that is to say, in Its nature
and Its origin, It is the Heart of a man,
formed of flesh, but in Its term, It is united
personally to the Word of God. It has be-
Twenty-fifth Day. 393
come, and It remains the Heart of the
Word, at one and the same time the Heart of
the Son of God and the Heart of the Son of
Mary. The Second Person of the Most
Holy Trinity has united Himself to It
hypostatically, that is to say, He has made
It His member, His organ forever. He has
thereby elevated that simple, created, ma
terial organ above all spiritual and angelic
substances. It is, without any exaggera
tion, the Heart of God. Its dignity, Its
price are literally infinite as a result of that
marvellous union with the Word. That
Heart, in consequence, performs the in
finite operations of the Word Himself, and
It deserves the homage due to God alone.
By that Heart, the Word loves us with His
eternal love; by that Heart, He knows us
with His infinite knowledge ; by that Heart,
He desires us all good. He loves His
Father with that Heart. He offers to Him
His infinite worship of adoration, praise,
prayer, and propitiation. These marvels,
these infinite operations, this multiple life
is constantly going on in each of the Hosts
in our tabernacles, in the profound silence,
in the neglected solitude to which, alas ! we
too often abandon them.
394 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
But the Heart of Jesus claims in each of
our sanctuaries, under the covering of
bread, a divine worship, the worship of
supreme adoration of latria. We must
recognize It as the Heart of Jesus sub
stantially united to the Divine Nature in
the Person of the Word. We must contem
plate It clothed with the majesty of God
Himself, holy with the infinite holiness of
God, good with the goodness itself of God,
the organ of infinite charity, uncreated life,
love, and mercy. We must adore It with
the adoration due to God Himself, love It
with the absolute love that God alone de
serves, and attribute to It, offer to It all
praise, human and angelic, and even that
which Christ Himself as Man gives to God.
It is at the same time a human Heart,
created, formed of Mary's blood. It has
a beginning, a growth, and It is now in a
state stable and unalterable. As such, It
has a past, a history, namely, Its immortal
life, first, in the Blessed Sacrament, and
next, in the splendor of the saints. Its
past life is composed of all that the Word
Incarnate did upon earth. It was the Heart
of Jesus, the Heart actually present in the
Host, that animated the life of Jesus during
Twenty-fifth Day. 395
the nine months that He spent in His
Mother's womb. It was that same Heart
that beat in His breast when He was born
at Bethlehem, which suffered with cold,
which shed tears of emotion. It was that
Heart which attached Him to His Mother,
which was filled with gratitude for her de
voted care, and which became the Heart of
the best, the most tender of sons. It was
in that Heart that flourished the virtues of
sweetness, obedience, and humility, which
embalmed the life of Mary's hidden and un
interrupted prayer. It was from that
Heart that issued all the words of the pub
lic ministry of the Saviour, words of truth,
of mercy, of pardon, and sometimes words
of menace against hypocrites and the ob
durate. It was in that Heart the Pater
noster was. composed. It was that Heart
that melted at sight of the moral and
physical miseries of the people, that wept
over Lazarus and over Jerusalem, Its un
grateful city, that was moved at sight of
the afflicted widow of Nairn. It was that
Heart that suffered the bitter desolation of
the Agony in the garden, the cruel shame
and sorrow of the abandonment of Its fol
lowers, the denial of Peter, and the treason
396 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
of Judas. It was that Heart that was sad
dened by the sorrows of Mary, and moved
with compassion for the good thief. And,
finally, it was that Heart that swelled with
Its last pulsation when the Saviour accom
plished the grand act of His death. The
soldier transpierced It with a lance, and the
Sacraments sprang forth from It under the
symbols of blood which nourishes and
water which regenerates.
Such is the history of that Heart and Its
glorious past. It repudiates no thought, no
act of it, for all in it was love, devotedness,
salvation. The fruits of that past, It ap
plies to us through the Sacrament. We
ought to take cognizance of it, and recall it
often to the Heart of Jesus when we adore
It in the Holy Eucharist. It will help us
better to comprehend the present. The
mortal life of Jesus is the elucidation of Hib
Eucharistic life.
REPARATION.
The Eucharistic life of the Heart of
Jesus commenced at the first Consecration
of the Last Supper. As soon as He held
Himself in His hands under the species of
bread changed into Himself, the Heart of
Twenty-fifth Day. 397
Jesus began a new existence. He took
the annihilated state of the Sacrament to
which He had reduced His Sacred Hu
manity, and therein is the principle of the
Eucharistic, or Sacramental, life of the
Saviour present under the species of bread.
This life He there continues under our eyes,
or rather unknown to us, so profound is
His retreat, although we know very dis
tinctly where it is spent, although we can
point out His dwelling very precisely, as
well as the space that contains it, and sev
eral of the laws to which it is subjected.
The life of the Heart of Jesus in the Eu
charist is that of a perfect victim and, con
sequently, of absolute immolation. It is
outwardly manifested by no sign, no pulsa
tion, no sound, no movement of the organs,
no coloring of the flesh, no vital heat. Noth
ing! It lives, It beats, It palpitates, It
animates the most perfect of lives, but at
the same time reduces it to nothing, buries
it in inertia and exterior death, in order to
transform it into a perfect holocaust of ado
ration and expiation.
It is the interior life that belongs to the
Priest of the Most High. He knows all
the rights of God, all the duties of humanity.
27
398 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
He assumes the task of harmonizing man's
duties with God's demands, and He offers
in His own name and in the name of all
men a Sacrifice infinite and uninterrupted,
in value worthy of the Divine Majesty, the
Sacrifice of adoration, thanksgiving, repa
ration, and prayer. The Heart adores in
the name of all men, and, giving to those
that adore with It whatever may be wanting
to render their adoration worthy of God,
It adores in the place of those that adore
not. It is the complement, the supplement
of mankind in their duty toward God. Not
a benefit descends from the overflowing
bosom of Divine Goodness, that that grate
ful Heart does not see, does not accept as
Its own, does not assume its debt, and dis
charge it by infinite thanks far superior to
the benefit itself. Not a sin is committed
that that Heart is not instantly moved, does
not offer Its own love and purity, Its own
Blood in reparation, to appease Divine Jus
tice, and to obtain pardon for the guilty.
Attentive to all the needs of humanity, even
before the beggar has asked his daily bread,
before the afflicted has presented his tears
to the God of all consolation, the Heart of
Jesus, that ever-watchful Sentinel, has ut-
Twenty-fifth Day. 399
tered the cry of distress. It had prayed, and
obtained food for both body and soul. Not
a grace comes from the celestial treasury
except by It. No prayer rises to the throne
of God until it is first laid in the Eucharistic
Heart of Jesus, thence to mount, borne upon
the v/ings of the prayer of Jesus Himself, to
the bosom of Infinite Goodness.
The Heart of the Eucharistic Christ is,
then, the Heart of the Priest, the Advocate,
the Mediator with God. Toward us It ex
ercises all the offices of love. It is the heart
of a mother, a father, a shepherd, for It
nourishes us, protects us, guides us. It has
all the tenderness, all the patience of mater
nal love; It has all the energy of paternal
love; and it is as a devoted shepherd that
Jesus watches from the tent of the taber
nacle over the lambs and the sheep, defend
ing them from the wolves of the world and
of hell, reviving them upon His bosom,
calling them to follow Him, and leading
them to green pastures and clear waters.
The Heart of the Eucharistic Christ is
the Heart of a Brother, a Friend, a Spouse.
It is the Heart of a Brother, for He has
the same Father in heaven, the same Mother
on earth as we, God the Father and Mary.
400 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
It is the Heart of a Brother, for He is of
the same origin, of the same flesh, of the
same blood as we. It is the Heart of a
Friend, for He became our equal, He dis
covers to us all His secrets, He shares with
us all His riches. He rejoices in our joys,
He grieves over our sorrows. He in
vites us to pour out our innermost
thoughts to Him, and He appears to
value highly the respectful familiari
ty of the closest friendship. As soon
as He had instituted the Eucharist and had
given Himself in the Sacrament, His Heart
exclaimed with transport : " I shall hence
forth call you My friends, for all that I
have received, I have given to you ! " It is
the Heart of a Spouse who puts all His
goods in common, who gives His name, His
wealth, His life, His love, and that forever,
to all souls who, baptized in His Blood,
wish to be united to Him in the sacred
espousals of Communion.
There is something more. Not satisfied
with living in the tabernacle for His
Father and for us, the Heart of Jesus is
hungering to communicate Himself, to give
Himself to those that He loves. And He
loves all, the just whose way is without
Twenty-fifth Day. 401
stain, and poor sinners escaping from the
mire of sin and about to enter into the
paths of justice. Communion is the su
preme miracle, the ripe fruit of the Eucha-
ristic Heart. It would not be sufficient for
Him to think of us, to watch over us, to
offer Himself for us, if He did not really
give Himself to each one. And this prodigy
the Eucharistic Heart alone realizes. Com
munion is the gift of the Heart of Jesus,
the incontestable proof of His personal love.
" O Lord, what is man that Thou shouldst
treat him so magnificently, shouldst deign to
unite Thy Heart with his poor heart?"
Would we contemplate the marvellous ef
fects of this communication of the Heart of
Jesus in the Eucharist?— Behold John upon
that Heart at the Last Supper. " Happy
Apostle," exclaims the Church, " whom we
cannot praise too much, envy too much ! "
In that contact, his soul drank in long
draughts of light and truth. He divined
the mystery of the Word in the Father's
bosom, he read the destinies of the Church,
he listened to the sublime inspiration of his
Gospel; and as no one knows the Father
except by the Son, because the Son lives
in His bosom, so no one speaks so well of
402 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the Son as that disciple who rested on His
Heart at Communion in the Cenacle. His
Heart was there filled with love and sweet
ness. He there learned and tasted the laws
of charity, which he handed down even in
extreme old age by his sweet expression :
" Love one another."
If we cannot presume to such favors,
since we are not of the number of those in
whom Jesus finds a virginal soul, yet, poor
sinners as we are, the Heart of Jesus will
not repulse us. It belongs to us, also. With
the prodigal, let us arise, let us go to It, let
us confess our sins, and they will be par
doned. But the rags of our misery still
cover us, we still bear the visible marks of
our wandering. Ah! Jesus will not reject
us on that account. Like the father of the
prodigal, He will come out to meet us at
the Communion Table. He will press us to
His Heart, He will not reproach us, for He
has forgotten all our past misdeeds ; and by
sweet tears that His loving kindness will
cause us to shed, we shall find our lost peace,
we shall be inundated with joy, we shall
be consoled with the assurance of pardon.
Oh, how good is the Heart of Jesus! It
warms the cold heart, It strengthens it in
Twenty-fifth Day. 403
Holy Communion, and it looks ^upon the
wanderer's return as the dearest joy of Its
life !
Just or sinner, let us all draw near to the
Sacrament that gives us the Heart of Jesus
for our resting-place, in which we may be
restored to health of soul, and taste again
the joys of innocence rewarded, or of re
pentance pleasing to God.
PETITION.
Lastly, the Heart of Jesus received at
the moment of Communion, becomes truly
our own, and we can, we ought to make use
of It in order to love God, to practise virtue,
to embrace sacrifice. That Heart ought
to animate our whole supernatural life. It
is the realization of the prophecy : " I will
take away your heart of stone, and I will
give you a heart of flesh," a heart tender
and loving. Oh, marvellous change, as
true as wonderful ! It is a gift, an irrevo
cable gift that Jesus makes us of His own
Heart in Holy Communion. As long as the
Eucharistic Species remain in our breast,
we really possess Jesus' Heart of flesh. It
loves, prays, adores, and wills in us. It is
for us to unite our tepid and cowardly, our
404 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
blind and egotistical heart to the Heart of
Jesus, to lose it in His, in order to love God,
our Father, in a manner worthy of Him. As
soon as the Sacred Species are consumed,
Jesus' Heart of flesh disappears with the
Sacrament, but Jesus continues to remain
in us spiritually, in order to make us live
of His own life. We remain spiritually
and very really united to His Heart, which
loves, acts, suffers, and merits in us. Our
life led on by His light and receiving His
inspirations, will become truly supernatural.
St. Bernard comprehended the gift of
Jesus' Heart in Communion when he penned
these words of loving confidence : " Since
we have had the happiness to approach the
most sweet Heart of Jesus, and since it is
good to remain in It, let us never separate
from It. How sweet it is to dwell in that
Heart! Infinite treasure, precious pearl, is
the Heart that I have found in Thy most
sacred Body, O Jesus! Who could neglect
such a treasure? Far from doing so, I
will give all that I have, my thoughts, af
fections, heart, and mind, to purchase It,
and I will abandon myself to Its direction.
That Heart is a temple, a sanctuary, the
Ark of the Covenant, and there it is that
Twenty-fifth Day. 405
I will go to pray, to adore, to praise the
name of the Lord, saying with David:
' I have found my heart in order to pray
to my God.' Yes, I have found, I have
possessed myself of the Heart of my King,
of my Brother, of my faithful Friend, the
Heart of Jesus. What henceforth can pre
vent me from praying with confidence?
My own heart is full of hesitancy, not
knowing how to pray, but the Heart of
Jesus is now my own: Cor enim illius me-
um est. If Christ is my head, if I am His
member, is not all that is His mine, also?
It is, then, with Thy Heart, O most sweet
Jesus, that Heart which is Thine and mine
at one and the same time, that I will pray,
for Thou art my God. Suffer my prayers
to penetrate into that Sanctuary in which
Thou wilt always hear them favorably.
Still more, draw me entirely into Thy
Heart that I may dwell therein all the days
of my life ! "
We now know what the Heart of Jesus
is in the Eucharist. It is His Heart as
true man that therein animates His sacra
mental life. It is a Heart at once human
and divine. It fulfils therein before the
Father the duties of a perfect priest and of
28
406 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
a victim ever immolated; and with regard
to us, It is the Heart of a Mother, of a
Brother, a Spouse, and a Friend. Not sat
isfied with living for us in the tabernacle,
He attracts us to Himself and gives Him
self to us in Holy Communion. This gift
is without repentance. It is made to us
that we may live and act supernaturally in
Him and by Him. And now, what re
mains to be said, except to indicate in a
few words the duties imposed upon us by
the presence and the gift of the Heart of
Our Saviour in the Eucharist.
First, we must know It, recognize It ex
plicitly in the Sacrament, penetrate to It
in thought, and go to adore It in the taber
nacles in which It is loving us and waiting
for us. Let us give It our time, much of
our time. We cannot better employ it. We
must adore It and praise It in all Its great
ness, human and divine. We must thank
It for all the proofs of love that It has
testified to us by the gift of the Eucharist,
which It perpetuates upon all our altars
at the cost of so great sacrifices, and with
so much profit to us.
Secondly, we must have for It love full
of heart, true tenderness, and the confidence
Twenty-fifth Day. 407
of a son, a friend, a brother. It is our
heart that It craves more than anything
else; and that we will give It if we sym
pathize in Its thoughts, Its interests, Its
affections. Oh, what great things the
Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist desires
for the glory of His Father and the salva
tion of men ! He remains in so many taber
nacles only to procure that glory, sustain
His Church, save sinners, preserve the just,
and offer Himself for the poor souls in
purgatory. Let us make His interests our
own. Let us join our prayers, our love
and our works to His sacrifice, to His per
petual apostolate.
Thirdly, let us compassionate that Heart,
neglected, despised, abandoned. Doubt
less, It is interiorly inundated with unal
terable joy, plunged in unalloyed beati
tude. But sin and forgetfulness affect It
in a divine and inexplicable manner. Its
complaints to Blessed Margaret Mary, if
we truly loved, we would hear issuing from
all the Hosts that we adore behind the gold
en wall of the tabernacle, or under the crys
tal of the ostensorium ; and above all, from
the Host of our Holy Communion, which
descends into our breast, begging for our
408 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
compassion, our tears, our love, our repara
tion. Oh, may our heart be ever loving
to the Heart of Jesus, unknown, humiliated,
and wounded by ingratitude !
Fourthly, let us make it our duty to com
mune with the Heart of Jesus whenever
we approach the Holy Table. Let us go
beyond appearances. Let us enter into the
Eucharistic Body by the Wounded Side,
to discover therein the Heart of Our
Saviour, the source of His mortal life on
earth, of His glorified life in heaven, of His
Eucharistic life, the pledge of His perpetual
abiding with us, the furnace of all the love
that this Adorable Sacrament lavishes upon
us.
Then, as the fruit of Communion, let
us give to the Heart of Jesus full empire
over our heart and our life. Let Him hold the
reins of our thoughts, and above all, of our
affections. Let us submit to It our desires
and our projects that It may approve and
bless them. Let all our crosses be faith
fully offered to It, that It may alleviate
them, sanctify them, and render them mer
itorious for us and for the whole world.
What shall we say in conclusion? — The
Eucharist is Jesus living, Jesus loving.
Twenty-fifth Day. 409
Jesus kind, Jesus who gives Himself, Jesus
who understands us just because, in the
Holy Eucharist, is truly and really His
Heart. Let us seek and find the Heart of
Jesus where It is hidden for us. Let us
love It where It loves us, in the most
Blessed Sacrament.
Beg our Eucharistic Lord to increase
your reverence when in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, solace in our
exile, give peace to the Church.
(100 days Indulgence.)
THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS.
ADORATION.
O JESUS, my adorable Saviour! I pro
nounce Thy holy name Jesus, and I feel
my soul penetrated with respect, love, and
adoration for the Divine Person who bears
this thrice holy name. I love Thee, O
my Saviour, for ennobling our human na
ture by taking from it Thy Body, Thy
Blood, Thy Heart, and Thy Soul with all
their admirable faculties ! I say to myself :
If the name of Jesus is so holy, so terrible
that, when pronounced every knee should
bow in heaven, on earth, and in hell ; if it
is so powerful that the first miracle of the
New Law, the first miracle of Thy Apostle
Peter, was wrought in the name of Jesus
of Nazareth, and ever since by the power
of the same holy name the saints have per
formed so many prodigies, what must we
think of Him who bears that name of glory
and of love? If the name of Jesus is so
sweet, so charming that the Church delights
410
Twenty-sixth Day. 411
in chanting it, and all who love the Saviour
thrill with joy when pronouncing it or
hearing it pronounced, what shall we say of
Him, of Jesus Himself?
Ah ! I understand why the name of Jesus
is of so much worth and merit, why it is
deserving of so much reverence and confi
dence. It is because Jesus signifies Saviour
of the world. Now, only a God, a God
made Man, has power to save us, as Peter
assured the Jews that there was no other
name by which we could be saved. Jesus!
Matchless name, peerless name, sacred
name par excellence, name truly adorable,
because it is the name of our Emmanuel,
the name of the good God, present and liv
ing among us! To merit this name above
every name, Oh, how much our dear Sav
iour suffered and humbled Himself, becom
ing, as St. Paul says, obedient unto death
and the death of the cross! (1)
Gladly, then, will I cry out with David:
" O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy
name in the whole earth! From the rising
of the sun till the going down of the same,
the name of the Lord is worthy of
(1) Philip, ii, 8.
+12 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
praise. Young men and maidens: let the
old with the younger praise the name of
the Lord, for his name alone is exalted. All
the nations thou hast made shall come and
adore before thee, O Lord: and they shall
glorify thy name!"
Would, O my Jesus, that I could speak
and write Thy name in season and out of
season, as did St. Paul in his Epistles!
Would that I could declare with St. Augus
tine and St. Bernard that every writing is
insipid if I find not there the name of Jesus,
that every conversation is wearisome if it
does not echo the sound of the holy name
of Jesus ! Would that, in imitation of St.
Bernardine of Siena, I could engrave the
name of Jesus in letters of radiant gold on
the walls of every public edifice and every
private dwelling! Above all, by dint of
pronouncing it and chanting it, would that
after my death it might be found engraven
on my heart, as on that of St. Ignatius of
Antioch !
THANKSGIVING.
The name of Jesus is a name of sweet
ness and love. If it calls upon me loudly
to adore, it commands me not less impera-
Twenty-sixth Day. 413
lively to thank. The name of Jesus recalls
to me my beloved Saviour, my Sovereign
Benefactor, Him to whom I owe all that I
am, all that I have, all that I hope for and
expect in this world, both in the natural
and the supernatural order, and in the next,
eternal glory and beatitude.
To pronounce, to hear the name of Jesus,
is in itself a grace, a protection. The saints
teach charming things on this subject. I
love especially to recall what St. Laurence
Justinian says of the advantages to be de
rived from the pious invocation of the name
of Jesus (1) : " As often as you piously
pronounce this holy name, you taste a cer
tain spiritual sweetness most agreeable, not
only in the heart, but also on the lips. This
name has a power all its own to rejoice
the soul, refresh the spirit, strengthen de
votion, and rouse the piety of him who in
vokes it. If tempted by the demon, op
pressed by men, burdened by sadness, worn
out by suffering ; if violently agitated by the
spirit of blasphemy or despair, struck with
terror, or plunged into the agony of doubt,
utter the name of Jesus and, at once, light
(1) Sermon on the Circumcision of Our Lord.
414 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
and grace will flow upon you. Yes, in dif
ficult, perilous, terrible moments, at home
and abroad, in the desert and on the bil
lows of the sea ; in fine, wherever you may
be, pronounce the name of the Saviour.
Pronounce it not with the lips alone, but
from the bottom of the heart, with faith,
love, and confidence, for it would serve lit
tle merely to spell, as it were, the syllables
of the divine name. But if you say, Lord
Jesus! confessing with mouth and heart
that He is truly God and truly man in the
unity of one same Person, you will be en
tirely embalmed with the good odor of
Christ and, by virtue of that confession,
you will be saved."
Let us now listen to St. Bernard : " The
name of Jesus," says he, " is honey to my
mouth, music to my ear, jubilation in my
heart. . . . Thy name, O Lord, is
like oil poured out. Oil enlightens, nour
ishes, softens. It feeds fire, nourishes the
flesh, soothes pain. It is a light, a nourish
ment, a remedy. And so it is with the
name of Jesus."
Here let us give utterance to our senti
ments of gratitude, for we have near us in
our tabernacles Him who is called Jesus,
Twenty-sixth Day. 415
and we can approach Him, speak to Him,
receive Him into our breast, and unite our
selves to Him as closely as we please. O
my Jesus, if Thy name is already a light,
a nourishment, and a remedy, can I doubt
that Thy Body and Blood, Thy Soul and
Thy Divinity contained in the Most Blessed
Sacrament, are with far greater reason
our indefectible light, our supersubstantial
nourishment, and the remedy for all the
evils of our soul? Moreover, it is Thou
Thyself, O well-beloved Saviour, who hast
said : " / am the light of the world." " My
Flesh is meat, indeed. I am the living
Bread." "I am not come for those that
are well, but for the sick"
May the name of the Lord be forever
blessed, and praised and thanked at every
moment be the Most Holy and Most Di
vine Sacrament!
REPARATION.
The name of Jesus has wonderful power
to incite us to reparation. There is nothing
astonishing in this, since Jesus is the name
of our dear Saviour, officially imposed upon
Him on the day on which, in His eagerness
to save us, He began to shed the first drops
416 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,
of His Precious Blood, namely, the day of
His Circumcision. It is in view of this
fact that Holy Mother Church places
upon the lips of her erring children these
words : " By Thy name, O Lord, have pity
on me, for great is my sin!" "Through
Thy holy name, O Lord, pardon my sins!"
To repair the sins committed against the
Eucharist, the forgetfulness, the irrever
ence, the blasphemy, let us love to repeat
often the following little act of love and
adoration: Praised be Jesus Christ! Let
us say it when passing before a church,
when we see a steeple in the distance, when
making the genuflection or the prostration
before the Most Blessed Sacrament Our
fathers, the first Christians, when they met,
saluted one another with the words:
Praised be Jesus Christ! Why, at least
among devout persons, should we not try
to establish this holy custom? Let us say,
let us cry out if possible, when we hear a
blasphemy: Praised be Jesus Christ!— -If
miscreants claim the right to blaspheme and
curse aloud, why should we not enjoy the
liberty to bless and adore aloud ? In many
Christian homes, notably in Catholic Bel
gium, may be seen on the walls scrolls and
Twenty-sixth Day. 417
placards, bearing in large characters these
words, which are constantly repeated :
Praised be Jesus Christ! Forever! — Ahl
here is a tradition which we should not al
low to fall into disuse. It would help to
repair the evil wrought by so many vile
posters stuck on the walls of our cities.
There is another invocation of Thy holy
name, O my Jesus, which is reparative in
the highest degree. It consists of the three
words : " My Jesus, mercy I" ( 1 ) .
Let us love to repeat it in reparation for
our sins and for the conversion of sinners.
PETITION.
My Jesus, mercy! It is a cry of repara
tion and an ardent prayer. St. Leonard
of Port-Maurice, that illustrious converter
of souls, that great apostle of Italy in the
eighteenth century, constituted himself the
indefatigable propagator of this short, but
powerful, invocation. He used to cry out
at the end of his missions : " Ah ! my dear
ly beloved brethren, who will give me a
voice of thunder, or rather one of the trum-
(1) This invocation is enriched with an In
dulgence of 100 days.
118 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
pets that will resound on the day of the
Last Judgment, and, transported with holy
zeal, I shall ascend to the top of the high
est mountains and from there shout with
all my might : ' Erring people, commend
yourselves to God in these or similar words :
My Jesus, mercy! My Jesus, mercy!'-
And I give you my word, since Jesus has
given you His before me in His holy Gos
pel, when He said, 'Ask, and you shall
receive' — yes, I give you my word, I re
peat, if you commend yourselves often to
God by these words, My Jesus, mercy! you
will cease to sin, and you will be saved ! "
This incredible power of the invocation
of the holy name of Jesus is founded on
the promise of Our Lord Himself. Hast
Thou not said, O good Master: Whatso
ever you shall ask the Father in My name,
that will I do? Has not Thy Apostle writ
ten: Whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved? Behold why
the Church expects all her help from the
Lord who made heaven and earth: Adju-
torium nostrum in nomine Domini qui fecit
coelum et terram. — Blessed, then is the
man whose hope is in the name of the
Lord! Again, if the name alone of Jesus
Twenty-sixth Day. 419
possesses so great supernatural power,
what of His Person Itself, of His Divinity,
His Sacred Humanity ? What is the power
of His Soul, of His Body, and of His
Precious Blood? What shall we say of
His Heart, that adorable Heart, which the
Divine Sacrament places at our disposi
tion, that by It we may render to God all
our religious duties, merit all His benefits,
and pay our debt of gratitude for them?
Yes, when we offer to Almighty God the
Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Holy Eucha
rist, we discharge our debt far beyond its
value, since nothing can equal in worth the
Holy Eucharist, the Gift above all gifts !
Pray earnestly for the conversion of sin
ners.
My Jesus, mercy!
(100 days' Indulgence.}
THE SACRED HEART IN THE HOST OF THE
REAL PRESENCE.
ADORATION.
THE Sacred Heart in revealing Itself to
St. John as present and living in the Host
which the Divine Master presented to His
Apostles before giving It to them in Com
munion, showed him at the same time Its
reality, human and divine. It made him un
derstand that, under the appearance of ma
terial bread, the Eucharistic Christ was in
every sense the Man-God, born of the Fa
ther from all eternity and of Mary in time.
By the words with which He invested It
with the sacramental state, He revealed
with what splendors of divine love, with
what tenderness of human love, the Saviour
willed, by means of His abiding Presence
throughout the ages, to love, " His own, "
that is, all men now become His brethren
by a double right, by nature and by redemp
tion : " Cum dilexisset suos qui erant in
mundo, in finem dilexit eos — Having loved
420
Twenty-seventh Day. 421
His own who were in the world, He loved
them to the end."
It pleased the Heart of Christ, in His
long Eucharistic career, which the univer
sal and obstinate ingratitude of men ren
dered equal to the most ignominious captiv
ity, to make a brilliant manifestation of His
Presence, His life, and His love in the Eu
charist. For the benefit of Christianity
now grown old, He renewed to a daughter
of France the Revelation formerly made
to St. John for the early Church. Paray-
le-Monial was the Cenacle of the Sacred
Heart, as the house of St. John had been
the Cenacle of the Eucharist.
" One day, when the Blessed Sacrament
was exposed," says that favored daughter,
Blessed Margaret Mary, " my good Master
presented Himself to me brilliant with
glory, His five wounds shining like so many
suns. From every part of His Sacred Hu
manity streamed flames ; above all from His
adorable breast, which was like a furnace.
Opening it, He disclosed to me His Divine
Heart, the living source of those flames ! "
The special end of this Eucharistic rev
elation of the Sacred Heart is to manifest
the love, the real, the actual love with which
The Eu charts tic Heart of Jesus.
Jesus never ceases to love souls in the Sac
rament.
Faith had grown weak and indifference
was testified by the contempt and forget-
fulness shown the outward sign of the Eu
charist. But the Saviour, raising the Eu-
charistic veils, or rather illuminating them
with a radiance more brilliant than that
of the sun, shows His Heart with the
words : " Behold this Heart which has
loved men so much that It has spared noth
ing, even to exhausting and consuming It
self to testify to them Its love ! "
This love is a real love in His Heart.
It is not the mere remembrance of the old
love which made Him redeem the world by
becoming incarnate and dying for man's
salvation, which the burning lamp of His
Heart enkindled on the night of the Eu-
charistic Mystery, ought to recall to an in
different world. It is the actual love with
which He loves it, and through which, after
nineteen centuries, He still devotes and con
sumes Himself daily for it, as He did on the
evening of the Last Supper. On that even
ing He loved " even to the end," that is,
without measure. Today behold how He
loves without being exhausted or wearied:
Twenty-seventh Day. 423
" My Divine Heart is so filled with love
for men that, no longer able to contain in
Itself the flames of Its burning charity, It
must of necessity spread them forth by thy
means. It must manifest Itself to them,
in order to enrich them with Its precious
treasures which contain the salutary graces
necessary to withdraw them from the abyss
of perdition."
THANKSGIVING.
Still more, this love of the Sacred Heart
is eager for a return. It feels the need of
being comprehended, of being faithfully re
ciprocated. It suffers from forgetfulness,
coldness, ingratitude, and abandonment.
" He discovered to me," says Blessed Mar
garet Mary, " the inexplicable marvels of
His pure love, and to what excess it had
carried Him, leading Him to love those from
whom He received only ingratitude. ' This
is to me,' He said, ' more wounding than all
that I suffered in My Passion ! For, if they
made some return for My love I should es
teem all that I have done for them as little,
and I would wish, if it were possible, to
endure still more. But they meet all My
eagerness to do them good with coldness
and rebuffs.' "
424 The Eucharistic Heart of JesuS.
" This is more wounding to Me than all
that I suffered in My Passion ! " These
words forcibly proclaim the truth, the reality,
the ardor of the love of Thy Sacred Heart
for us, O adorable Master ! Are we to under
stand from them that Thou dost endure a
real sorrow such as we ourselves sometimes
feel ? a grief which lessens or destroys Thy
joy as to its extent, its depth, or its dura
tion ? By no means ! For all the manifes
tations of Thy sacramental life are in ac
cordance with the laws upon which it is
founded. Now, since the morning of the
Resurrection joy has forever taken posses
sion of Thy Soul, filling It to overflowing,
without the possibility of its being impaired
or diminished by any cause whatever. It
is like the immortal life that raised Thy
Body from the tomb, excluding from it for
ever physical suffering, fatigue, or hunger.
But why use expressions that do not cor
respond to the reality?
Those expressions of suffering in the
Heart of the Encharistic Christ were true
at the moment in which the Saviour insti
tuted the Sacrament. He was then passible
and subject to all kinds of sufferings. " His
Heart was filled with evils: Repleta est
Twenty-seventh Day. 425
malis anima mea," and the horror that He
felt on beholding Judas sacrilegiously par
ticipating in the reception of His Body suf-
ficently testifies how much He suffered from
the contempt, the outrages, which met His
clear-sighted gaze down the coming centu
ries. In His chalice of the Last Supper, by
foreseeing and accepting them, He drank
at a single draught all the bitterness and
sadness which, until the end of time, are to
fall upon Him in His Eucharistic existence.
As He receives this ingratitude from those
whom He purchased with His Blood and
nourished with His Flesh, whom He ele
vated to the dignity of children of God,
nay, even from consecrated virgins and
priests of the New Covenant, He can say
in all truth that it is "more wounding to
Him than all He endured in His Passion/'
These words are rigorously true for the mo
ment of the Eucharistic institution, which
in reality embraced all the Holy Masses
that were to follow till the end of time. O
Master of truth, in the strictest theological
sense, Thou wast justified in using them !
" One day," says Blessed Margaret Mary,
" the Sacred Heart was represented to me as
upon a throne of fire, more brilliant than
426 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the sun and transparent as crystal." Here
we see Its state of fundamental glory. But
now let us see the sufferings of Its institu
tion, the remembrance of which Jesus de
sires to imprint in our mind : " The wound
that It had received on the cross," the Bless
ed Sister goes on to say, " was plainly vis
ible. There was a crown of thorns around
the Divine Heart and a cross above It. My
Divine Master gave me to understand that
these instruments of His Passion signified
that from the first moment of Its institu
tion He accepted all the outrages to which
His love for man would expose Him in the
Most Blessed Sacrament."
REPARATION.
These loving and sorrowful complaints,
O Lord, Thou dost employ also toward us,
to give us some idea of the gravity of our
faults in Thy regard. As we are more alive
to what is actual and present, by telling us
how greatly Thy Heart suffers in the Sac
rament, Thou didst wish us to hear these
words : " When I instituted the Eucharist,
My Heart suffered from all the ingratitude
that men would heap upon It in the years to
come. Every time that it was struck by
Twenty-seventh Day. 427
one of these outrages, It would again have
endured as much were that still possible."
It is for this reason that, in the revelation
of Paray, which throws so much light on
the nature of His love for man in the Eu
charist, Jesus so often shows Himself
wounded and covered with ignominy.
" Disclosing to me one day," says Blessed
Margaret Mary, " His loving Heart all torn
and transpierced with blows, He said : ' Be
hold the wounds I have received from My
chosen people ! Others are satisfied with
striking Me on My person, but these attack
My Heart, which has never ceased to love
them ! ' " And again, " He presented Him
self to me as the Ecce Homo, all bruised
and disfigured, saying : ' I have found no
one willing to shelter Me in the suffering
and pitiable state in which I am ! ' She
adds : " This sight filled me with so lively
a grief that death would have been a thou
sand times sweeter than to see my Saviour
in that state ! " The Divine Heart had ob
tained what It sought by showing Itself
under this exterior of suffering, namely,
compassion and reparation.
Our Lord's glorious impassibility does
not, then, lessen the sufferings caused by
428 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
our injuries, which all mount up to the first
moment of His sacramental existence. On
the contrary, it increases the gravity of our
faults by uselessly continuing under our
eyes the perseverance of His invincible love.
O my sweet Master, repeat again the com
plaint of Thy Heart! I have need of its
frequently striking my heart, until it is
broken with contrition and softened by com
passion : " I receive for the most part only
ingratitude, and that is more wounding to
Me than all that I endured in My Passion ! "
The Revelation of Paray clearly mani
fests the desire and need of the Sacred
Heart to be loved by men in the Sacrament,
and how sensible It is of the least homage,
of the least attention. This seeking after
affection is akin to Its nature and is a satis
faction to which It has a right, for It has
every title to our love. It is, above all,
the means of making us capable of doing
good. By loving It we fulfil our chief
duty, we find the assured means of easily
accomplishing all others, and we receive the
joy, the consolation, and the foretaste of
beatitude.
Thou wilt say, then, O Heart eager to be
loved : " I thirst ardently to be honored by
Twenty-seventh Day. 429
men in the Blessed Sacrament, and I find
almost no one who tries, according to My
desire, to slake My thirst by making Me
some return ! "
And again Thou wilt say : " If men made
Me some return for My love, I should es
teem what I have done for them as little,
and I would wish, if it were possible, to
suffer still more."
PETITION.
After these appeals, which are made to
all mankind, Jesus becomes a suppliant,
humbly soliciting, earnestly begging of
everyone the smallest testimonies of love.
" Do thou, at least," does He say to His ser
vant Blessed Margaret Mary, " give Me the
consolation of supplying for their ingrati
tude as far as thou art able ! " And she
again assures us : " My Divine Master has
told me that He takes special pleasure in
being honored under the figure of this
Heart of flesh."
Although His glorified state cuts Him
off from experiencing suffering, yet He does
not deny Himself the joy to be tasted in
the marks of love shown Him, or the glory
derived from the honors rendered Him. Al-
430 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
though plunged in the plenitude of infinite-
happiness, He still seeks an increase of.
accidental glory and beatitude in the love,,
the fidelity, the delicate attentions of men,
who belong to His Heart by so many sacred,
claims.
Sighing for relief and consolation, He:
continues : " Thou shalt bear Me company
in the humble prayer that I offered to My
Father in the Garden of Olives, Thou
shalt prostrate, thy face to the ground. . ..
in order to alleviate in some degree the bit
terness that I then experienced from the
desertion of My Apostles, which forced Me
to reproach them with not being willing to
watch one hour with Me."
That we may not be able to plead inabil
ity to love Him as He desires, He infuses
into us His own love, and fans it into flame.
Still more, He changes our heart, giving
us, in order to love Him, His own Heart.
" As I represented to Him," says Blessed
Margaret Mary, " my powerlessness to love
Him, He demanded my heart. I begged Him
to take it. He did so, and placed it in His
own adorable Heart, in which He showed it
to me as a tiny atom being consumed in
that burning furnace. Thence withdraw-
Twenty-seventh Day. 431
ing it like a glowing flame in the shape of a
heart, He replaced it in my breast, saying:
' Behold, My beloved, a precious pledge of
My love, which shuts up in thy side a little
spark of Its fiery flames, to serve thee for
a heart and to consume thee till the last mo
ment of thy life.' ':
" This favor," says the Blessed Sister's
contemporaries, " was renewed the first
Friday of every month in this way — the
Sacred Heart of Jesus was represented to
her as a sun, brilliant with light. Its burn
ing rays shot down upon her heart which,
under the influence of so intense a fire, felt
as if it were being reduced to ashes. It was
especially at these moments her Divine Mas
ter instructed her as to what He demanded
of her, and discovered to her the secrets of
His Heart."
These diverse testimonies from the Reve
lation of Paray unite in proving to us how
truly the Sacred Heart in the Blessed Sac
rament actually loves us. It is a love both
divine and human, but sincere, intelligent,
and sensible. It is a love which pours itself
out in infinite effusions upon the world, but
which longs to flow without measure into
every soul redeemed by Him on the Cross.
432 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Jesus desires to lead every soul to heaven
by constituting Himself in the Blessed Sac
rament its guide, support, surety, and help
at every moment. It is a love that has need
of reciprocity, a love that calls for return,
that really enjoys receiving it, and that suf
fers (in the divine manner in which God
can suffer from our offences) at seeing
itself rejected. It is a lasting, persevering
love, that recoils before no obstacle, is
wearied by no ingratitude, that no hatred
can turn to hate, but which, on the contrary,
is changed by sin into mercy and pardon.
It is the love faithful among all loves,
sweet, compassionate, indulgent, conde
scending, and patient.
Ah! if we could believe in the truth and
sincerity of this love which calls us by our
name, reads our most secret thoughts, knows
our most private needs, watches over every
one of us night and day, follows us step by
step, prays and pleads for us incessantly be
fore God, and has no other desire than our
good ! If we could believe that this love
feels itself repaid if we only trust in Him
and allow ourselves to be loved by Him !
Ah, if we truly believed in His tenderness,
devotedness, and fidelity, what a blessed
Twenty-seventh Day. 433
change would come over the conditions of
our existence on this earth ! No doubt, we
should still have sins to shun and defects
to reform, difficulties to surmount and suf
ferings to endure ; but we should no longer
be alone without guide or support, without
Saviour or pastor near us, without Jesus,
without God with us, all to us and for us.
We should feel ourselves truly and person
ally loved by the most generous and loving
of hearts. And, in truth, what more can
man desire upon earth : " Et a te quid super
terram, Deus cordis mei et pars mea Deus
in (sternum? — And besides Thee what do I
desire upon earth, Thou God of my heart
and my portion forever ! "
" I find in the Sacred Heart of my Jesus
all that is wanting to my own indigence,
because It is filled with mercy," says
Blessed Margaret Mary. " I have never
found a more efficacious remedy in all my
afflictions than the Sacred Heart of my
Adorable Jesus. There it is that I slumber
in peace, that I repose without disquietude.
There is nothing so rough or vexatious that
it cannot be ameliorated by the sweet Heart
of Jesus. The sick and the sinful find in It
a safe asylum in which to remain in secur
ity. This divine and loving Heart is all my
434 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
hope, all my refuge. Its merit is my salva
tion, my life, my resurrection. While Its
mercy fails me not, I am well provided with
merits ; for the more powerful It is to save
me, the more trust have I in It.
" O most liberal Heart, be Thou all our
treasure and sufficiency!
" O Heart most loving and desirable,
teach us to love and desire but Thee !
" O Heart most propitious, which dost
take so much pleasure in doing us good,
grant me wherewith to acquit my debt
toward Divine Justice! I am insolvent, do
Thou pray for me ! Repair the evil I have
done by the good which Thou hast done !
" And that I may owe everything to Thee,
O charitable Heart, receive me at the awful
hour of my death ! Hide my soul from the
divine wrath! Protect and answer for me!
O permit not that I should be deprived
of loving Thee eternally! May I live but
by Thee and for Thee ! Be forever my life,
my love, and my all ! "
Pray for fidelity to the inspirations of
grace.
Jesus ! Mary ! Joseph !
(Indulgence, 7 years and 7 quarantines.)
THE EUCHARISTIC HEART, THE PALLADIUM
OF THE CHURCH.
THE Eucharistic Heart is the Heart of
Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It is the
Heart that inspired the Divine Master to
make to the world the gift of the Eucharist.
It is the Heart that leads Him to renew this
gift every day. Again, it is the Heart im
molated with Christ in the august Sacrifice
of the Mass. It is the Heart that gives
Itself as nourishment in the Communion
with the Flesh and Blood of Jesus. Lastly,
it is the Heart that is ever present, living
and loving, in the breast of Christ abiding
in the tabernacle. Toward this Heart so
really present, of whose love for us we can
not doubt, which loves us with all the
strength of which it is capable, which is so
unchangingly faithful to us throughout the
long misery of life, we shall, raising wistful
eyes and suppliant hands, send up our heart
felt adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and
petitions. May Mary and Joseph, the first
who felt the pulsations of this Heart of a
435
4.36 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
God, hidden in the feeble breast of a new
born Babe, reveal Him to us, make us feel
living and loving in our breast, although in
visible to our eyes, the Christ hidden under
the veils of the Eucharist!
ADORATION.
" Is it then to be thought," exclaimed
Solomon, after bringing the Ark of the
Covenant into the oracle of the Temple,
erected by his pious and magnificent care,
" is it then to be thought that God should
dwell upon earth? For if the heaven of
heavens cannot contain Thee, how much
less this house which I have built? But
have regard to the prayer of Thy servant
and to his supplications, O Lord, my God,
hear the hymn and the prayer which Thy
servant prayeth before Thee this day ! That
Thy eyes may be open upon this house night
and day, upon the house of which Thou hast
said: My name shall be there! " (1)
" And the Lord appeared to him and said :
I have heard thy prayer and thy supplica
tion which thou hast made before Me. I
have sanctified this house which thou hast
(1) III Kings viii, 27.
Twenty-eighth Day. 437
built to put My name there forever, and
My eyes and My Heart shall be there
always. Et Cor meum ibi cunctis die-
bus f'(l).
Solomon did not dare to ask the presence
of the Divine Name in the Temple as a
pledge of protection, as a palladium for the
city and the nation. The Lord Himself
added the promise of a watchful eye and
an attentive ear toward all who would come
there to pray, and still more, He promised
the presence of His Heart. It is very nat
ural that wherever the eyes are the heart
will be also, for without the heart which
gives life, how could the eyes see? The
Lord specified, nevertheless, and promised
that where His name and eyes should be,
there should be His Heart, also, and that
forever. Was not this repetition only an
Oriental redundance attributable to the
translator of the divine revelation? Ah!
we greatly prefer to see in it the intention
of the paternal goodness of God who, wish
ing to make His Presence as favorable as
possible to man's confidence and prayer,
adapted it to his needs. And the great need
(1) Ibid, ix, 3.
438 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
of man is to know, to feel himself loved,
because he is born for social intercourse of
which love is the fundamental good. Now,
the most expressive symbol of love is the
heart. As the sensible, though mysterious,
Presence of God in the propitiatory was
the figure of the real and personal Presence
of the God-made Man in our Eucharistic
tabernacles, we see again in this word the
intention of formally arresting the eyes, the
piety, the confidence, and the prayers of
Christians upon the Heart of Jesus Christ,
although His eyes be open to our presence,
His ears attentive to our supplications, and
His hands with their stigmata of love ex
tended toward us to receive and hold us
fast.
I understand Thee, O my God, my good
Father, become my Brother and my Friend
by making Thyself man like to me! Thou
art present there for me, but knowing how
material I am, how little given to spiritual
things, how I shrink from mystery if too
profound, how silence and inaction chill me,
how the chastisements I have deserved for
my sins make me afraid of Thee, and how
much my inborn self-love renders me diffi
dent, timid, and pusillanimous, Thou hast
Twenty-eighth Day. 439
concentrated all my attention on Thy Heart.
Knowing me well, for Thou hast created me
and re-created me by redeeming me, having
for over thirty years had experience of the
miseries of my state, Thou hast given me
Thy Heart, because It proclaims Thy own
human life, personal and actual ; because It
tells of Thy goodness, benevolence, devot-
edness, patience, and mercy ; because It ex
cites sympathy, invites confidence, favors
familiarity, encourages repentant and hu
miliating avowals. Ah ! mayst Thou be
blessed for having so well understood me
and for having summed up everything in
Thy Heart in order to reveal Thyself to
me in the mystery of Thy prophetic Pres
ence in the ancient Temple, the anticipation,
the shadow already so pronounced of Thy
Real Presence in the Sacrament of our
altars !
Blessed Margaret Mary, in the light of
the Sacred Heart, admirably understood
the Real Presence of God in the Eucharist.
" When only four years old, she felt so
powerfully attracted to the church that,
very far from becoming weary when in its
sacred precincts, she knew no pleasure in
life equal to remaining there a long time,
440 The Eucharist ic Heart of Jesus.
and never left it but with regret. As she
had the happiness to dwell not far from a
church, she frequently visited it. There she
would kneel, her hands joined, thinking only
of the first questions of her catechism, such
as are taught to children when they are
just beginning to learn. She believed God
more really present in the church than else
where, because she had been instructed ac
cording to her childish capacity that Jesus
Christ, God and Man, abides Body and Soul
in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar.
She believed this truth simply, and she was
satisfied in the Presence of Him who from
that time took possession of her loving
heart."
" The Divine Goodness kept me so occu
pied in His holy Presence," she tells us,
" that I could have passed whole days be
fore the Most Blessed Sacrament." When
she was not to be found in the house, they
went to look for her in the church, and there
she was sure to be. From that time she
lost all relish for vocal prayers, which it was
impossible for her to make before the
Blessed Sacrament. She felt so strongly
attracted by Jesus' Presence that she forgot
to eat and drink. " I do not know what I
Twenty-eighth Day. 441
do there," she says, " but I feel a great desire
to be consumed in His Divine Presence like
a burning torch to render Him love for love.
I cannot remain in the lower part of the
church and, whatever confusion I may feel
interiorly, I fail not to approach as near as
possible to the Blessed Sacrament."
THANKSGIVING.
When the God-Man instituted the Eu
charist to replace His figurative by His per
sonal Presence, to abide Body, Soul and Di
vinity in every tabernacle under the appear
ance of bread, thus concealing from us the
magnificence of His glorified state, again
in a very significant manner He calls atten
tion to His Heart..
At the Last Supper, as soon as He had
changed the bread into His own substance
and given Himself as food to the Apostles,
He attracted John to His breast and de
tained him there. He permitted him to lay
his head on His bosom, to linger there, to
give himself up to repose so peaceful and
prolonged that the Gospel says : " Now
there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of
His disciples whom Jesus loved — Erat ergo
-142 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
recumbens units e.v discipulis ejns in sinu
Jesu, quern diligebat Jesus" (1).
It is clear that what John, by an irresist
ible movement of divine love, sought on the
bosom of Jesus and in His breast, was the
Heart of His well-beloved Master, in which
he understood that the loving thought of re
maining among men under the form of a
little bread had taken rise. He saw that it
was the Heart of Jesus which, in an excess
of love, as inexplicable as incomprehensible,
had impelled Him to give Himself as food
to him, to his fellow-disciples, and through
them to the whole world. He felt, and
Jesus seemed to say to him, that the reason
for this ineffable institution could be found
only in love, that is, in His Heart ; that there
alone would he comprehend the nature, the
end, the spirit, all that it was necessary to
know in order to gather the marvellous
fruits It contains for the support, strength,
and consolation of man here below.
It is a law of nature that the effect shows
forth the qualities of the cause that pro
duces it; that the thought of the work
man appears in his work ; and that a child,
(1) John xiii, 23.
Twenty-eighth Day. 443
for example, reproduces the moral disposi
tions of its parents as well as their features.
If the Eucharist is the masterpiece of the
love of the Saviour for men, and if the
heart is the instrument as well as the sym
bol par excellence of love, It must have all
the qualities, all the inclinations of the
Heart of Jesus. It will be sufficient for me
to recall this perfect Heart of the God-Man
to know the secret, the soul of the Eucha-
ristic Mystery, though enveloped in impen
etrable veils.
It was in this way that St. John pene
trated into the depths of the Eucharist.
After having descended into the Heart of
Jesus, sounded Its hidden depths, and as
similated It by plunging into It and cling
ing to It by a close and prolonged embrace,
he set forth Its qualities and effects in his
Gospel,
Because Jesus has a true human Heart
like our own, He feels the necessity of dwell
ing with us. Forced to leave us in order
to return to His Father, He cannot resolve
to break the natural bond of consanguinity
and the moral bonds of labor accomplished,
of trials endured, and of dangers run in
common ; and so, " having loved His own
444 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
who were in the world," and who were to re
main in it after He should have left it,
Christ was impelled by His Heart to sub
stitute His Sacramental for His human
Presence. This Presence was to be that of
the Son of God made Man in order to dwell
with man as long as there should be an
earth for the place of his exile. There He
was to remain until our entrance into the
eternal country : " Sciens Jesus quid venit
hora ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad Pa-
trem cum dilexisset suos qui erant in
mundo "(1).
Because Jesus has a true human Heart,
sensible to the trials of his fellowmen,
which, indeed, He shares with them, He
was so much the more saddened at the
thought of leaving us, as He read the grief
of His disciples in the tears that filled their
eyes. He could not witness such sorrow
on His account without remaining to
console them; therefore He instituted His
abiding Presence to be the Consoler of every
affliction : cf Vos nunc quidem tristitiam
habetis; iterum autem vide vos et gaudebit
cor vestrum — You now indeed have sorrow,
(1) John xii, 1.
Twenty-eighth Day. 445
but I will see you again, and your heart
shall rejoice " (1).
Because He brought forth His Apostles
to the supernatural life and has for them as
well as for us. their younger brethren, the
true Heart of a father, Jesus cannot con
demn them to the sad condition of orphans,
exposed to the rapacity, the knavery, the
iniquity of a world ranged against their in
experience, simplicity, and weakness. He
remains with them, therefore. His Pres
ence in the Sacrament will be that of the
Father to guard, feed, and cherish His
children, to defend the fireside against fam
ine and violence: c( Filioli, non relinquam
vos orphanos; veniam ad vos! — My little
children, I will not leave you orphans. I
will come to you!" (2).
Because He has a Heart truly human,
and because man fears solitude with its si
lence, its night, and its terrors, with the dan
gers there run in the absence of help, with
the distress there endured from the want
of succor, Jesus wishes not to abandon us
in the sad loneliness in which every Chris-
(1) Ibid, xvi, 22,
(2) 'ibid, xiv, 18.
446 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
tian must live in the midst of an indifferent
and hostile world. He remains, therefore,
in the Sacrament to be with us wherever
we are : ' Et si abiero, iterum venio, et ac-
cipiam vos ad meipsum, ut ibi sum ego, et
vos sitis — And if I shall go ... I shall
come again, and will take you to myself,
that where I am you also may be "(].)•
Because Jesus has a human Heart, up
right and loyal, He feels the responsibility
that He has taken upon Himself as well as
the obligations it imposes, and He desires
to satisfy them. Having called His Apos
tles to follow Him, having compromised
them in the eyes of their nation, and then
cast them out into the world like lambs
among wolves, condemned to a merciless
war, He will not abandon them in so diffi
cult a situation. He will share their com
bats, preserve them from the blows aimed
at their souls, and help them to support and
even to draw advantage from those levelled
at their physical well-being. He instituted,
therefore, His Presence as the palladium of
the Church and the source of that confidence
which rouses and inflames courage. Every-
(1) Ibid, xiv, 3.
Twenty-eighth Day. 447
where does He present It to His followers
in the thick of the fight, crying out to them :
" Confidite, ego vici mundum ! — Have con
fidence ! I have overcome the world !"(!)•
REPARATION.
Because He has the Heart of a true man,
in all things like unto my own, and because
He knows that nothing is more painful than
unanswered prayer, a call unheeded, hope
deceived, a vain endeavor, the heavens like
brass, Divine Providence apparently deaf
to our interests (small, doubtless, when com
pared with the government of the world,
but very important for the tranquillity and
prosperity of our life), Jesus has instituted
His Presence in the Sacrament. He is
there as our perpetual Mediator before God,
as an infallible pledge of our being favor
ably heard. The only condition is that we
abide in Him, that is, that we live in His
grace by fidelity to the duties of our state
of life. Because He knew that diffidence,
discouragement, despair, and blasphemy
might come upon us had we no visible ref
uge, might separate us from Him and ren-
(1) Ibid, xvi, 33.
448 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
der us irretrievably miserable both in time
and eternity, Jesus stays with us in the Holy
Eucharist. He said to His Apostles, and He
has never ceased to repeat : " Amen,
amen, I say unto you : if you ask the Father
anything in My name, He will give it you.
Hitherto you have not asked anything in My
name. Ask, and you shall receive, that
your joy may be full — Petite et accipietis,
ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum! "(1).
Ah, yes ! that we may here below be hap
py in a measure compatible with the neces
sity of purchasing eternal happiness by tem
poral trials, Jesus has instituted His Pres
ence in the Sacrament as the never-failing
source of heavenly peace, of pure joy, which
sweetens all labors and trials, which above
all recognizes the truly human condition of
His Sacred Heart. He can not forget that
He created us for the unending joys of
heaven and that our nature was born to
happiness in the Garden of Eden, in which
there was no mingling of pain. He knows
how strongly in spite of our well-merited
exile, we are attracted by our first destiny
and how much the remembrance of what we
(1) Ibid, xvi, 20-24.
Twenty-eighth Day. 449
have lost inspires us with the desire to re
gain it. He knows how painful it is for us
to live without joy, yes, not only painful,
but impossible for long, and even dangerous
to eternal salvation! On this account,
therefore, Jesus remains in the Blessed Sac
rament. There does He obtain from the
Father peace and pardon for souls. He
enlightens the peace of the mind with the
serene joy of faith. He protects peace of
conscience by confidence in His clemency.
He maintains peace in the will by its per
fect accord with the will of God. He pours
into the heart the sweetest peace of filial
piety so closely allied to perfect joy. Per
fect joy is the presence, the sight, the pos
session of God and Jesus ; and the Bless
ed Sacrament shows us and gives us truly
Jesus and God ! Jesus said : " Peace I
leave with you. My peace I give unto you ;
not as the world giveth, do I give unto you/'
for My peace is assured and lasting. Again,
He said : " Amen, amen, I say to you, you
shall lament and weep while the world shall
glory in oppressing you. But I shall change
your sadness into joy. You are now sad
because I am about to go hence ; but I shall
return to you, and your heart shall rejoice
450 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
and your joy no man shall take from you :
Iterum mdebo vos, et gaudium vestrum
nemo toilet a vobis!" (1).
PETITION.
In his contemplation of the Sacred
Heart, against which his own was so closely
pressed, the truth of the human nature of
the Christ who had made Himself a Sacra
ment was revealed to St. John along with
the power and splendor of His divine nature,
of which He lost nothing by annihilating
Himself in the sacramental state. He was
shown the admirable union from all eternity
of the Word with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, into which the Sacred Humanity as
sumed by the Word entered victorious over
the combats He had sustained for the re-
establishment of His Father's kingdom.
By revealing Itself truly divine under the
humble Species consumed in the beloved
disciple's own breast, the Sacred Heart man
ifested to him Its sublime origin : "Sciens
quiet a Deo exivit " — and the divine end of
the God-Man : " Et quia ad Deiun
vadit." It revealed to him His almighty
(1) Ibid, xvi, 20-22.
Twenty-eighth Day. 451
power and His empire over all things :
" Sciens quia omnia dedit ei Pater in
manus"(l). It showed him .His unalter
able union with the Father, who never
separates from Him, neither in the weak
ness of His mortal state, nor in His Eucha-
ristic annihilation : " Ego in Patre et Pater
in me est; Ego et Pater unum sumus. Qui
videt me videt et Pair em meum"(2).
Jesus again says : " My Divine Father,
the Almighty Creator and Conservator of
the world, who dwells in and with Me, who
am one only God, does all the marvellous
works by which I have manifested to the
world My divine mission: " Pater in me
manens, ipse facit opera "(3).
By an infinite word, the Divine Heart
discovered to John the presence of His Di
vinity in the marvel of the Eucharist : In
finem dilexit. He loved to the end, He
loved infinitely! He loved to the end of
His power, for He could produce no greater
marvel than the mystery of transubstantia-
tion which renders Him present in the Eu~
(1) Ibid, xiii, 1-3.
(2) Ibid, xiv, 9.
(3) Ibid, xiv, 10.
4:52 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
charist. He loved to the end of time, since
He will remain in It to close the ages after
having secured the salvation of the last
soul to be saved. He has loved to the end
of space, since He is present at one and the
same time all over the inhabited world. He
has loved to the end of numbers, since He
will be more abundantly multiplied than all
men of all generations, in order to give Him
self to every one. He has loved to the end
of abasement, since He will live hidden in
the dust of the Sacrament, the nearest ap
proach to annihilation than that of any
other living thing. He has loved even to
the highest point of elevation, since He
exalts to the glorious life of eternity all who
cling to Him firmly : In finem !
To love to such an extent and to mani
fest His love by works so evidently divine,
is to be truly God. It was His Divinity
that remained integral in Jesus, in spite
of His sudden annihilation in the particle
of bread presented to His Apostles. It was
that same Divinity which revealed to St.
John the Sacred Heart upon which he was
reposing, lost in wonder and gratitude: In
fine in dilexitl
These were the lights upon the nature,
Twenty-eighth Day. 453
the character and the effects of the Eucha
rist that fixed John's attention on the Heart
of Jesus at the moment of the institution
of the Sacrament. This is the model offered
us. Whoever desires to penetrate beyond
the Eucharistic clouds without being1 affright
ed by Its profound night ; whoever desires
to comprehend as far as he can here below
this incomprehensible Mystery, must look
upon, must implore, must study the Eucha
ristic Heart of Jesus. The Sacrament, out
wardly inert and lifeless, will suddenly be
come animated, will live, at one and the
same time God and Man! The student of
the Eucharist will love with the most sub
lime and tender of loves. He will be gentle
and good, powerful and strong, helpful and
faithful forever like Jesus Himself, the true
Son of God and Son of Man.
Let us see how Blessed Margaret Mary
comported herself before the Most Blessed
Sacrament. She spent almost the whole
of the various feasts before It, offering the
homage of her interior and exterior love
and respect to the Real Presence of the Sa
cred Humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
She loved Him as her God and Saviour,
with her whole soul, her whole heart, and all
454 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
her strength. She loved Him with a love
of complacency, seeing in Him the Sover
eign Good and the fruitful Source of all
holy desires, alone sufficient for Himself.
She loved Him with a love of benevolence,
ardently longing to love Him as much as
He deserves, and that all creatures should
enter into her dispositions. She loved Him
with a love of union with His will and His
good pleasure, which she sought to bend
to her own will, only that by sufferings,
trials, and humiliations she might become
more conformable to what He had been in
His mortal life. Once she wrote : " When
you make a genuflection before the Blessed
Sacrament, say: May all things bow down
before Thee, O Almighty Power! May all
hearts love Thee, may every spirit adore
Thee, and may every will be submissive to
Thine ! "
Pray for resignation to the will of God.
Our Lady of the Cenacle, pray for us.
(50 days' Indulgence.)
THE SACRED HEART AND EUCHARISTIC
REPARATION.
REPARATION is one of the essential char
acteristics of the worship of the Sacred
Heart. The Saviour declares it in express
terms. There are three special sins against
the Holy Eucharist which it is called upon
to repair. On this subject we shall hear
the repeated declarations of the Revela
tions of the Sacred Heart, and we shall
see reasons that render such reparation ur
gent and necessary. What strength, what
help, what means for its perfect accom
plishment does the devotion of the Sacred
Heart afford ! We feel ourselves urged, as
it were, to respond to the touching and
pressing appeal made to Blessed Margaret
Mary : " Do thou, at least, try to console
Me by making Me some return ! "
ADORATION.
To be convinced that devotion to the
Sacred Heart means reparation for sins
against the Holy Eucharist, we need but
455
456 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
to listen to the clear and earnest words of
the Saviour to Blessed Margaret Mary:
" One day, during the octave of Corpus
Christi, I was praying before the Blessed
Sacrament. I received from God some
great graces of His love, and I felt moved
by the desire to make to Him some return,
and to render Him love for love. He said
to me : ' Thou canst do nothing greater
for Me than by doing what I have so often
asked of thee.'
" Then showing me His Divine Heart,
He said : ' Behold this Heart which has so
loved men that It has spared nothing even
to exhausting and consuming Itself in or
der to testify to them Its love. Instead
of acknowledgment, I receive for the most
part only ingratitude, irreverence, sacrilege,
coldness and contempt in this Sacrament of
Love. But what I feel much more deeply
is that it is hearts consecrated to Me that
treat Me so.
" ' I ask, therefore, that the first Friday
after the octave of Corpus Christi be de
voted to a special festival in honor of My
Heart, by communicating on that day and
by making an act of reparation for the in
gratitude It has received while exposed on
the altars/ "
Twenty-ninth Day. 457
Nothing could be more formal. The
Feast of the Sacred Heart sums up the
whole devotion of the Sacred Heart. It
was to be instituted in reparation " for the
ingratitude, irreverence, sacrileges, cold
ness, and contempt which the majority of
mankind exhibit for the Saviour in His
Sacrament of Love."
THANKSGIVING.
It might appear that, in this contempla
tion of the outrages committed against the
Eucharist, there is little room for thanks
giving, for the mere thought of them fills
the heart with sadness and calls loudly for
reparation.
It is, however, a most precious gift from
the Sacred Heart, and one that deserves
earnest thanks, to recognize Its abasement,
to be moved to pity It, and to be sensible
of the necessity of offering some indemni
fication to It.
Our heart cannot fail to be overcome by
the tenderest sentiments if we reflect on the
incomprehensible love that led the Divine
Saviour to institute the Eucharist, in spite
of all the offences, humiliations, and ingrati
tude which He foresaw would result from
458 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
so doing. We shall be still more moved
when we think of the even more amazing
love which leads Him to remain undaunted
in the midst of a world which despises and
rejects Him, which urges Him to give
Himself to those that receive Him with the
intention of outraging Him more cruelly, or
to others that will profit nothing by His
coming to them. Oh, what disgust the
sweet Saviour must feel for such souls!
What struggles He must endure !
Jesus was ignorant of nothing that He
would be forced to encounter in the Eucha
rist. Long before Its institution, when
looking upon Judas, the foresight filled His
Heart with the sharp thorns of anxiety most
sorrowful, dug in It an ever-increasing
wound, and planted deeply in It a Cross
that crushed and bruised It.
The first time that He manifested His
Heart to Blessed Margaret Mary, it was
" With the Wound He received upon the
Cross, a crown of thorns around It, and sur
mounted by a Cross. And my Divine Sav
iour made me understand," she tells us,
" that, from the first moment of His Incar
nation, all His torments were present to
Him, and from that first moment the Cross
Twenty-ninth Day. 459
was, as it were, planted in His Heart. It
was then that He accepted all the outrages
to which His love for man exposed Him in
the Blessed Sacrament till the end of time."
REPARATION.
What renders sin grave and reparation
necessary, is the injury done to Divine Maj
esty and the importance of the precept de
spised. Now, from each of these points of
view, sins against the Eucharist take on a
gravity unequalled by any other. They
wound directly the sacred Person of the
Christ, and go right to His Heart ; they are
the ungrateful response to His tenderest
and most generous love ; they despise His
formal commandments, thus incurring eter
nal damnation ; lastly, they audaciously put
on the character of public apostasy. From
all these considerations, they call for earnest
and indefatigable reparation.
The Divine Master sorrowfully enume
rates " ingratitude, contempt, irreverence,
coldness, and sacrileges." On another oc
casion, He spoke of the " outrages to which
His love had subjected Him by exposing
Himself on our altars to the end of time."
Finally, He bitterly complained of " meet-
460 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
ing only coldness and rebuffs, despite His
eagerness to do us good."
If we must complete and particularize
this pitiful enumeration, passing over de
tails of certain terrible profanations which,
revealed from time to time, cast a sinister
glare upon the profound Mystery in which,
for our sake, resides our Saviour and our
God, as well as upon the ferocious baseness
of man's heart when filled with hatred, let
us turn our attention to some grave infi
delities toward the Eucharist, namely : the
neglect to hear Mass on Sunday and to re
ceive Holy Communion at Easter. These
are real crimes, since they constitute a for
mal revolt against the manifest will of God
and the positive precepts of the Church.
They are real crimes of ingratitude and con
tempt of the Christ's death, which the Sac
rifice renews, and against the unspeakable
gift of His adorable Flesh as nourishment.
They are true crimes of apostasy, since they
who commit them refuse to join the public
worship due to God. They are real crimes
of hatred against God, since they refuse to
unite themselves with Him, to His life here
below and to His eternal life by participat
ing in His Flesh, the only aliment of di
vine life in man.
Twenty-ninth Day. 461
In many places the churches are far from
being filled at the Sunday Masses, and at
Easter communicants are not numerous. If
in some places we find crowded churches,
yet even there the absentees far exceed those
present. Can we say that the tenth part
of baptized Christians render to God and
to His Christ the primary duties of relig
ion? Alas! with regard to God, universal
apostasy, neglect of His authority, immense
ingratitude toward Jesus Christ, who em
ploys so much love, makes so many sacri
fices, in order to immolate and give Him
self, prevail everywhere. Mortal damage
done to souls, loss to Christian society, the
disappearance of Christ's beneficent action
on the world, the liberty offered to Satan to
establish his deadly empire — this is what
everywhere confronts us.
Viewing it from the point of love, of
which the Eucharist is the highest expres
sion, as well as the tenderest manifestation,
who can comprehend the bitter disappoint
ment, the sharp sorrow experienced by the
most loving Heart of Jesus, who finds His
delights only in being with the children of
men? To procure those delights He shrank
not from embracing the abasement of the
31
462 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
sacramental state and taking upon this mis
erable earth a new existence, just when His
Father bade Him ascend to His glorious
rest. Coldness, contempt, rebuffs, the ob
stinate turning away of the majority of
men, are the only response, the only ac
knowledgment of His well-meaning Pres
ence, that Presence so full of benevolence,
of welcome, of courtesy to all. " Tola, die
expandi manus meas ad p&pulum nolen-
tem et contradicentcm! — I have spread forth
my hands all the day to an unbelieving peo-
ple"(l).
PETITION.
The duty of reparation must now be evi
dent and urgent to one who comprehends
the gravity, the horror, and the number of
sins against the Eucharist. But at the
same time that reparation must appear dif
ficult and altogether above the strength
of one who sincerely recognizes his own
weakness, the small value of his own good
works, and the immense disproportion be
tween them and their need.
Blessed Margaret Mary belonged to the
class of the truly humble. Even when
(1) Is. Ixiv, 2.
Twenty-ninth Day. 463
pierced to the very soul by the groanings
of the Sacred Heart, and inflamed by her
own ardent desires for reparation, " she
represented her utter inability to Our Lord,
and He replied to her : ' Behold wherewith
to supply all that is wanting to thee ! ' At
the same moment the Divine Heart opened,"
she tells us, " and from It shot a flame so
fiery that I thought I should be consumed.
I was so penetrated by it that, unable to
endure it, I begged Our Lord to have pity
on my weakness. ' I will be thy strength.
Fear not ! ' was His reply."
If we wish to repair worthily, we must
earnestly, humbly, and perseveringly im
plore the Sacred Heart for the grace to do
so. That dear Heart longs for nothing so
much as to pour out such grace upon us.
After having demanded of Blessed Marga
ret Mary the institution of Its feast, the
Communion of reparation and the honora
ble amend of the Holy Hour, He said again
to her : " I promise thee that My Heart
will dilate to shed abundantly the influ
ences of Its divine love upon those that will
render to It this honor, and urge others to
do the same."
The first grace necessary for reparation
464 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
is a compassionate love for Our Lord. This
will make the soul attentive to the cruel
and bloody wounds, to all that He endured
in His mortal life, to all the mystical pains
that He still undergoes in His sacramental
life. This compassionate love will make
the soul generous to enter into His suffer
ings, to endure them, to take upon herself
the greater part of them, and to look upon
such participation as the most precious joy.
The Divine Lover, the despised Lover,
looks for one that will compassionate and
console Him. " One day," says Blessed
Margaret Mary, " Our Lord honored me
with one of His visits, and said to me:
' My daughter, art thou really willing to
give Me thy heart as a place of repose for
My suffering love which all others de
spise ? ' ' My Lord, Thou knowest that I am
all thine! Do with me as Thou dost de
sire/ Then He said to me : ' Knowest thou
for what end I give thee My graces so
abundantly? It is to make of thee, as it
were, a sanctuary in which the fire of my
love burns constantly. I have chosen thy
heart as a sacred altar upon which to offer
to My Eternal Father holocausts to appease
His justice, and to render Him infinite
Twenty-ninth Day. 465
glory by the offering that thou wilt make
to Him of thyself, uniting thereto the sacri
fice of thy being in order to honor Mine.' '
The second grace to be asked for repara
tion, is a very compassionate, a very devoted
charity for the misfortune of souls who, by
their sins injure the Sacred Heart. To
pray for them, to offer one's self for them,
to humble one's self, to chastise one's self
in expiation of their sins and to obtain
their conversion, to persevere in this de-
votedness till the end has been obtained —
this is reparation sincere and efficacious.
This is the reparation so much desired by
that Heart which never ceases to love those
that tear It to pieces, patiently to endure
all their blows to win for them by Its pa
tience pardon and conversion. What does
St. Paul say ? " For I wished myself to be
an anathema from Christ for my brethren
who are kinsmen according to the flesh "(1).
" One day, when Our Lord had shown
Blessed Margaret Mary the bad treatment
He had received in a soul who had com
municated with affection to sin, seized with
fear and sorrow, she cast herself at His
(1) Rom. ix, 3.
466 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
feet, watered them with the tears she could
not restrain, and said to Him : ' My Lord
and my God, if my life will be of any use
to repair these injuries, although what
Thou dost receive from me is a thousand
times greater, yet behold me ! I am Thy
slave. Do with me whatever Thou pleas-
est/ He replied : ' Whenever I make
known to thee the bad treatment I receive
from that soul, I wish thee to prostrate at
My feet after Communion and make hon
orable atonement to My Heart. Offer to
the Father for the same end the bloody sac
rifice of the Cross, along with thy own be
ing, to pay homage to Mine and to repair
the indignities I receive in this Heart.' At
these words, I suffered great pains, and
I repeatedly begged for mercy. After I
had received Him one Easter Day, He
said to me : 'I have heard thy groaning,
and I have shed My mercy on that soul.' ''
Make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in
reparation for those who visit It not.
May the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus be
blessed !
(50 days' Indulgence.)
tlbirtietb
THE EUCHARISTIC HEART PLEADING FOR
REPARATION.
ADORATION.
THE octave of Corpus Christi, with the
Solemn Masses and processions that open
and close it, the uninterrupted Exposition of
the Adorable Sacrament, is the culminating
point of Eucharistic worship. And yet
" the indignities committed against Him
during it," as the Saviour says, lead Him to
demand " Communion and an Act of Repa
ration to repair the indignity offered Him
during the time of Exposition on our altars."
Now it is clear why the Friday after the
octave of Corpus Christi has been chosen
by the Saviour for the celebrating of the
Feast of His Heart.
This very distinctly marks the reparative
character of devotion to the Sacred Heart
for the sins committed against the Eucha
rist. " Corpus Christi," as St. Thomas de
clares, " is intended, by solemn and pro
longed homage, to repair the indifference of
467
468 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
the preceding year in the daily celebration
and reception of the Holy Mysteries." The
Feast of the Sacred Heart will repair the
faults that shall have glided even into the
solemn celebration of the eight days of the
octave just completed. Devotion to the
Sacred Heart will be not only an expression
of gratitude for the infinite love and the in
comparable benefits which Jesus has centred
in the gift of His Eucharist, but an honor
able reparation for that love despised, for
those benefits profaned or rendered useless.
It is the Heart of Jesus, the " Victim of
Its own too great love/' that there is ques
tion of adoring, consoling, and exalting in
the Sacrament in which It is offered : " Cor
Jesu, charitatis victimam, veniie adorernus!
Come, let us adore the Heart of Jesus, Vic
tim of love."
THANKSGIVING.
For twenty centuries Jesus has been de
spised, repulsed, hated. The uncalled-for,
multiplied, and obstinate rebuffs that He
meets ; the icy coldness upon which His ar
dent love has no effect; the profanations
that outrage His Majesty, violate His sanc
tity, and abuse the weakness of His Hu-
Twenty-ninth Day. 469
manity, ought to have been able to tire Him
out, to make Hirn abandon this ungrateful
earth, or, at least, to give rein to His just
anger for the avenging of His discarded
love. But no! He acknowledged the in
convertible weakness of His Heart for us
when He confided to Blessed Margaret
Mary the following : " To receive from
men only ingratitude after having loved
them to so inexplicable an excess, is more
painful to Me than all that I suffered in My
Passion." " But," He added, in an ador
able disclosing of the secret sentiments of
His Heart, " if they would give Me some re
turn for My love, I should esteem all that I
have done for them as little, and I should
wish, if it were possible, to endure still
more."
Far from being worn out with loving this
ungrateful world, Jesus desires to redouble
His love and overcome hatred by kindness.
It was for this end that He revealed His
Heart. Let us hearken again to a love
which cannot contain itself, and which, in
stead of being extinguished by the waves of
hatred that It meets, is, on the contrary, in
creased, and breaks out in a paroxysm like
the following : " My Divine Heart is so
passionately in love with men that, unable
470 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
to restrain the flames of Its ardor, It is
forced to allow them to escape, It manifests
them in order to enrich men with Its pre
cious treasures." " He told me," says
Blessed Margaret Mary, " that the intense
desire He has of being loved by men led Him
to form the design of manifesting His Heart
to them, and in these latter ages of giving
to them a last effort of His love, by pro
posing to them an object and a means so
proper to win them to love Him and to love
Him truly. He opens to them all the treas
ures of love, grace, and mercy, of sanctifi-
cation and salvation that It contains. This
He does that they who wish to render and
procure for Him all the honor and love pos
sible may be enriched with a profusion of
the divine treasures of which It is the faith
ful and inexhaustible source ! "
Shall not our hearts overflow in thanks
giving to this Heart which loves us to Its
own detriment, and which opposes to our
ingratitude only new acts of love? " Nos
ergo diligamus Deum, quoniam Deus prior
dilexit nos! — Let us therefore love God, be
cause God first loved us " (1).
(1) I John iv, 19.
Thirtieth Day. 471
REPARATION.
If there is question of sacrilegious Com
munion, " the sorrowful trembling of the
Heart of Jesus at the Last Supper and the
indignant protests of the Saviour against
Judas "(1), tell of the horrible violence, the
outrageous treatment, the cruel punishment
that He endures from it! He feels the
claw of sacrilege fastening upon Him, and
He declares that it would have been better
for the traitor never to have been born than
to commit such a crime! (2)
The Saviour's communications to His
faithful confidante, Blessed Margaret Mary,
may give an idea of the suffering inflicted
on His Heart, not only by those that com
municate in the state of mortal sin, but by
those that entertain an affection to venial
sin, voluntary tepidity and, above all, to
sins of pride.
" After Holy Communion," she tells us,
" my Divine Saviour presented Himself to
me as the Ecce Homo, all torn and dis
figured. He said to me : ' If thou didst but
know who it is that has reduced Me to this
(1) John xiii.
(2) Mark xiv, 22.
472 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
state! . . . Five souls consecrated to
My service have treated Me thus, for I have
been forcibly dragged with ropes into very
narrow places that were filled with all sorts
of sharp spikes, nails, and thorns, and they
have reduced me to what you see.'
" I was desirous for an explanation of
these words. Then Our Lord gave me to
understand that the rope was the promise
that He has made to give Himself to us ; the
force used against Him was His own love ;
the narrow places were ill-disposed hearts ;
the spikes, the spirit of pride. I offered
Him as a place of rest the Heart He had
given me. In His weariness He presented
Himself to me as soon as I had a moment,
telling me to kiss His Wounds, and thus al
leviate His suffering.
" On another occasion, when preparing
for Holy Communion, I heard a voice say
ing to me : ' Look, My daughter, at the bad
treatment that I meet in the soul that has re
ceived Me ! She has renewed all the pains
of 'My Passion.' I was filled with surprise
at hearing such words of a soul that had
bathed in the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.
But the same voice continued : ' It is not
that she is actually in sin, but the will to sin
Thirtieth Day. 473
has not left her heart. I hold this more in
horror than even the sinful act itself, for
it is contemptuously applying My Blood to
a corrupt heart, since the will to sin is the
root of all corruption. ' :
Wounds, dishonor, sorrow, the renewal
of His whole Passion — it is thus that the
Saviour depicts the punishment inflicted on
His Heart by sins against the Holy Eucha
rist, and of which He even says : " It pains
Me more than all that I endured in My Pas
sion." Is not this sufficient to make us un
derstand the gravity of such sin? Is it not
sufficient to impress every faithful soul with
the urgent duty of reparation? to make her
earnest and compassionate toward the
wounded Heart, generous and energetic in
winning pardon for those that offend It?
PETITION.
" On another occasion, Our Lord said to
me : ' Dost thou wish to bear the weight
of My sanctity of justice? I am about to
let it fall upon that religious in name, whom
behold ! ' And He showed her to me. In
stantly I fell at His feet, exclaiming:
' Rather consume me to the marrow of my
474 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
bones than destroy this soul that has cost
Thee so dear! Do not spare my life. I
sacrifice it to Thy interests ! ' As I rose
from the ground, I felt burdened with so
great a weight that I could not drag myself
along. I was at the same time attacked by
so violent a fever that it penetrated even to
the marrow of my bones, and shortly obliged
me to keep my bed. I was exceedingly ill.
I would have desired to see myself forsaken,
abandoned by all creatures, thus to be more
conformed to Jesus' suffering. I felt in my
self so great a hunger to receive Him that' I
knew not what to do, except to seize Him
with my eyes by their tears. My agony was
like that of the souls in purgatory, who
suffer from the privation of the Sovereign
Good; for, notwithstanding the ardent de
sire that consumed me, my Divine Master
made me see that I was too unworthy to
lodge Him in my heart. This was a suf
fering not less than the first, which urged
me to approach Him."
If love so consuming for the adorable
Victim of the Eucharist, if such sufferings
embraced for the conversion of His unfortu
nate scorners are above our courage and
even our desires, it remains for us to employ
Thirtieth Day. 475
for Eucharistic reparation the means that
are in the reach of every soul of good will,
namely, frequent attendance at Holy Mass,
with closer attention to the Passion, which
it renews in so real a manner ; more fre
quent Communions, with better preparation,
more purity, recollection, and fidelity to all
our duties, more fervent and assiduous
visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and more
faithful participation in daily and nocturnal
adoration. We may add to this the more
patient and humble acceptance of the priva
tions entailed upon us by our condition in
life, more perfect resignation lo our suffer
ings, whatever they may be, and more filial
and lasting abandonment to the holy will of
God in all kinds of trials, whencesoever they
proceed. The generous choice of some
mortifications, fasts, disciplines, and hu
miliations, suited to our state of life and
physical ability, will be, also, a proper and
very laudable means of reparation. United
to the sufferings, humiliations, and perpetual
sacrifice of the annihiliated and immolated
Heart of the Eucharistic Christ, purified
and inflamed by His love, they will be most
powerful to console Him, and to obtain from
Him the conversion of all those who crucify
476 The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
anew to themselves the Christ, who profane
or who neglect the " Heavenly Gift "(I)-
Pray for true humility of heart.
Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make
my heart like unto Thine.
(300 days' Indulgence.)
(i) Heb. vi, 4.
BX 2158 .T47613 1908 SMC
Tesniere, Albert.
The eucharistic heart of
Jesus 47235047